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V 



By Frederic Stanhope HUl 

The Romance of the American Navy 
Twenty-Six Historic Ships 




THE BATTLESHIP FLEET AT ANCHOR IN SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR. 
"MARYLAND" IN FOREGROUND 

(Copyright, 1908, by Enrique Muller) 



The Romance 

of 

The American Navy 

As Embodied in the Stories of Certain of 
Our Public and Private Armed Ships 

From 1775 to 1909 
By 

Frederic Stanhope Hill 

Late United States Navy 

Author of " Twenty-Six Historic Ships," " Twenty Years at Sea," " The Story of 

the 4 Lucky Little Enterprise," " " The Historic Continuity of the 

Anglican Church," etc. 



Illustrated 



G. P. Putnam's Sons 

New York and London 
Gbe fmicfterbocfter lPress 

1910 






Copyright, 1910 

BY 

FREDERIC STANHOPE HILL 



Ube fmtcfeerbocher press, "Hew ©orft 



2>ni a 






4 



ITnscribeO 

IN RESPECTFUL MEMORY 

OP MY GOOD FRIEND 

GEORGE EUGENE BELKNAP 

REAR-ADMIRAL UNITED STATES NAVY 



FOREWORD 

IN considering a title for this record of the 
" Romance of the American Navy " it has 
been the thought of the writer to use the term 
" navy " not in its precise or strictly technical 
meaning, but as covering all vessels commanded 
or manned by American seamen, whether or not 
their vessels might, at the time, be included in 
the roster of the Colonial or American navy. 

It is a noteworthy fact that in the Revolution- 
ary War, and, later, in the War of 1812, not 
less than sixty of the most distinguished officers 
in our navy served for a time either in com- 
mand or as officers on board privateers. Trux- 
ton, Hopkins, Talbot, Barney, Decatur, Porter, 
Biddle, Rodgers, Bainbridge, Little, Robinson, 
and Smith were all in this category. 

To show how intimately connected the history 
of the United States navy has been with that 
of the privateers it is sufficient to state that in 
our first war the vessels built or purchased by 
Government numbered sixty-four, carrying one 
thousand two hundred and forty-two guns and 
swivels, which captured one hundred and ninety- 
six vessels. The privateers numbered seven hun- 
dred and ninety-two, carrying more than thirteen 

V 



vi Foreword 

thousand guns and swivels, which captured or 
destroyed nearly six hundred vessels. 

In the War of 1812, the regular navy num- 
bered only twenty-three vessels, carrying five 
hundred and fifty-six guns. This force captured 
or destroyed two hundred and fifty-four of the 
enemy's ships, public and private. The priva- 
teers, in the same war, numbered five hundred 
and seventeen vessels, carrying two thousand 
eight hundred and ninety-three guns, which took 
or destroyed one thousand three hundred prizes, 
valued at $45,600,000, and captured thirty thou- 
sand prisoners, more than one thousand of whom 
were officers and privates of the regular English 
army. 

It is a very striking fact that, as against these 
thirty thousand prisoners captured by our pri- 
vate armed ships, there were less than six 
thousand prisoners taken by our land forces in 
the War of 1812. 

In both of these wars the heroic deeds of our 
privateersmen were unparalleled in the history 
of naval warfare. In September, 1814, at a 
public meeting held in Glasgow by special re- 
quisition of the Lord Provost, it was resolved 
unanimously : 

That the number of (American) privateers with 
which our channels have been infested, the audacity 
with which they have approached our coasts, and 
the success with which their enterprise has been 



Foreword vii 

attended have proved injurious to our commerce, 
humbling to our pride, and discreditable to the 
directors of the naval power of the British nation, 
whose flag, till of late, waved over every sea, and 
triumphed over every rival. That there is reason 
to believe that in the short space of less than 
twenty-four months above eight hundred vessels 
have been captured by that power whose maritime 
strength we have hitherto, impolitically, held in con- 
tempt. . . . and when in the plenitude of our power 
we have declared the whole American coast under 
blockade, it is equally distressing and mortifying 
that our ships cannot with safety traverse our own 
channels, that insurance cannot be effected but at 
an excessive premium, and that a horde of Ameri- 
can cruisers should be allowed, unheeded, unre- 
sisted, and unmolested to take, burn, or sink our 
own vessels in our own inlets, and almost in sight 
of our harbors. 



In view, therefore, of the undoubted fact that 
our saucy American privateers were such an 
important factor in determining the result of 
the first two wars of this nation, and that so 
many of the officers and men who fought in 
these private ships made their first essays in 
naval warfare as privateersmen, it seems to the 
writer that, in this volume at least, — side by 
side with the record of the officers and men of 
the regular establishment, — should be recorded 
some of the brilliant deeds of those privateers- 
men, untrained in military science, who by their 



viii Foreword 

bravery, skill, and patriotism accomplished such 
extraordinary results. 

In the preparation of this work the author 
has consulted the archives of the Massachusetts 
State Department, the libraries of the Boston 
Athenaeum and Harvard University, the Official 
Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in 
the War of the Rebellion, the Life and Letters 
of Admiral D. G. Farragut, J. F. Cooper's His- 
tory of the American Navy, the Biographical 
Memoir of Commodore Josiah Barney by Mary 
Barney, 1832, Harris's Life and Service of Com- 
modore William Bainbridge, Waldo's Life and 
Character of Stephen Decatur, Thomas Clark's 
Sketch of the Naval History of the United 
States, 1813, Higgin's Naval Battles of the 
United States, Life and Battles of Paul Jones, 
[Written by Himself], 1830, Paul Jones, Founder 
of the American Navy, by A. C. Buell, J. F. 
Davis's Naval Annals, Maclay's History of 
American Privateers, Morris's American Navy, 
Roosevelt's War of 1812, London Naval Chron- 
icles, Hollis's The Frigate Constitution, J. 
Butters's American Bravery in the War of 1812, 
Carital's Life of Silas Talbot, Wharton's Diplo- 
matic Correspondence of the American Revolu- 
tion, The United Service Magazine, Fanning's 
Narrative, Gardner Papers, Naval Battles and 
Our New Navy, H. W. Wilson's The Downfall 
of Spain, and her Ironclads in Action, Scharf's 



Foreword ix 

History of the Confederate Navy, and many 
other contemporaneous publications. 

The writer has freely availed himself of these 
sources, supplemented, in the parts dealing with 
the Civil War, by such matters as came under 
his immediate knowledge or personal observa- 
tion as an officer serving with Farragut at the 
capture of New Orleans and in the Gulf of 
Mexico and, later, with Admirals Porter and 
Lee in the upper Mississippi Eiver. He also 
gratefully acknowledges in the preparation of 
his work many valuable suggestions from Rear 
Admiral Stephen B. Luce, U. S. N., Retired, and 
from Rear Admiral George F. F. Wilde, U. S. N., 
Retired. 

F. S. H. 

Cambridge, November, 1909. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword v 

Part I. — The War of the Revolution and the 
War of 1812. 

CHAPTER I 

The Beginning of the Struggle ... 3 

Conditions in the colonies immediately before 
the Revolution. Commencement of the legis- 
lative usurpation on the part of the mother 
country. A sloop from Madeira seized by 
the royal officers. The tea-party of 1773 re- 
sults in Parliament enacting the Boston Port 
Bill. A congress of representatives from the 
different colonies convened and royal mili- 
tary supplies seized by the patriots in Rhode 
Island and New Hampshire. The fights at 
Concord, Massachusetts, and at Lexington 
follow. Actual commencement of the War 
of the Revolution. The first recorded sea 
fight in 1636. Capture by the patriots of 
the British cutter Margaretta in 1775 at 
Machias, Maine. Captain Mugford's cap- 
ture of the British armed ship Hope and his 
contest with the boats from a British frigate. 
Captain Harding's capture of three British 
transports laden with troops and military 
supplies. The Thorn takes an armed brig 
and several other prizes. Capture of the 
Gaspe at Providence, Rhode Island. 



xii Contents 



CHAPTER II 

Commodore Joshua Barney .... 20 

Young Barney goes to sea at the age of thir- 
teen. He becomes master of the ship Sidney, 
of Baltimore. Passage in a leaky ship to Gib- 
raltar. Gives a bottomry bond for the cost of 
repairs and sails for Nice. Is imprisoned by 
the Sardinian governor for refusing his de- 
mands. Makes a journey over the Alps to 
Milan to interview the British Ambassador 
and returns in triumph to Nice. Sails for 
Alicante, Spain, where his ship participates 
in the Conde O'Reilly's expedition against 
the Moors. He returns in the Sidney to Bal- 
timore and learns of the outbreak of hostili- 
ties between the colonies and the mother 
country. Offers his services to his own coun- 
try as master's mate of the Hornet and 
hoists the first American flag seen in Balti- 
more. The Hornet chased by the Roebuck's 
tender and Barney's breach of discipline. 
He is ordered as lieutenant to the Wasp and 
later to the Sachem on his seventeenth birth- 
day. Barney ordered to the Andrea Doria. 
Captures a snow and while in charge of her 
Barney is captured by H. B. M. Perseus. 
His affray on board the British ship with 
her purser. Is paroled. Marries and im- 
mediately sails as lieutenant of the Saratoga. 
She is captured by the British Intrepid, 74. 
Barney's imprisonment on the Yarmouth, 74, 
and his subsequent incarceration in the Eng- 
lish Mill Prison. His sensational escape, 
disguised as a British officer. His wander- 
ings and final escape to France. His return 
home after eighteen months' absence. Is 
given command of the Pennsylvania State 



Contents xiii 



ship Hyder Ally. The capture of the Gen- 
eral Monk. She is given into Barney's com- 
mand as the General Washington. Barney 
sails in her for France bearing despatches 
to Franklin. In the War of 1812 Barney, 
as captain U. S. N. is given command of 
Chesapeake Bay flotilla and is wounded at 
the battle of Bladensburg. Receives sword 
of honor. His death in 1818. 



CHAPTER III 

The " Lucky Little ' Enterprise ' " 

Officers afterward famous who served as junior 
officers in the Enterprise. Lieutenant Shaw's 
brilliant service in the West Indies. Sum- 
mary of her captures. Lieutenant Charles 
Stewart takes command. She joins the Medi- 
terranean squadron. Capture of the polacre 
Tripoli. Returns home and sails again for 
Mediterranean under command of Lieutenant 
Isaac Hall. Destroys an Algerine cruiser. 
Stephen Decatur assumes command. De- 
struction of the Philadelphia in harbor of 
Tripoli. The Intrepid sent in to Tripoli to 
destroy enemy's gunboats. Decatur's des- 
perate combat with the enemy's gunboats 
outside the harbor. Attacks upon Tripolitan 
fortifications continue. Treaty of peace 
signed with the Bashaw. War of 1812 de- 
clared. Enterprise, as a brig, captures the 
privateer Fly. Her fight with and capture of 
the British brig-of-war Boxer. Funeral rites 
of the two commanders at Portland. Cap- 
tain John Barry sails in the frigate Alliance 
for France. Takes a British privateer. Cap- 
tures the Mars and the Minerva. Capture 



38 



xiv Contents 



of the Atlanta and the Trepassy. The Con- 
stellation captures the Insurgente. 



CHAPTER IV 

John Paul Jones 61 

His birth and ancestry. Goes to sea at age of 
thirteen. Finds his brother William in Vir- 
ginia. He inherits the estate, taking the 
name of Jones. His experience as a tobacco 
planter. Affray with an English lieutenant. 
The outbreak of hostilities. Jones offers his 
services and he is appointed on a commis- 
sion for the purchase of ships of war. Is 
commissioned as a lieutenant in the Colonial 
Navy. His cruises in the Alfred and Ranger. 
Carries the news of Burgoyne's surrender 
to France. Captures the British ship Drake 
in the English Channel. Assumes command 
of the Bon Homme Richard. Desperate com- 
bat with the British frigate Serapis in Eng- 
lish Channel, and her capture, his own ship 
sinking at end of the engagement. Jones 
received in France with high honors and in- 
vested by Louis XVI. with Grand Cross of 
the Order of Military Merit. Receives Medal 
and Resolution from Congress. Returns home 
and is given state dinner in New York. Re- 
turns to France and is sent on mission to 
court of Denmark. Empress Catherine com- 
missions him Rear Admiral in Russian Navy. 
The Liman campaign. Admiral Jones dec- 
orated with Order of St. Anne and pro- 
moted to Vice-Admiral. His death at Paris. 
The final formal ceremonies by order of 
United States Government at the Annapolis 
Naval Academy. 



Contents xv 



CHAPTER V 

The Cruises op the Privateers " Yankee," 
" General Pickering," and " Prince de 
Neufchatel " 92 

The Yankee makes six successful cruises. 
Large amount of prize-money from her forty 
prizes. Harraden's cruise in the General 
Pickering. Capture of the Golden Eagle. 
Fight with the Achilles. Last drawn battle. 
The Prince de Neufchatel beats off attack 
by boats of British frigate Endymion. 

CHAPTER VI 

Three Cruises op the Frigate " Constitu- 
tion " 106 

Commodore Preble sails to take command of 
the Mediterranean squadron. His midnight 
meeting with the British frigate Maidstone. 
War declared with England and Captain 
Hull sails in command of the Constitution. 
She escapes from a British squadron after 
a sensational chase. Her contest with H. B. 
M. frigate Guerriere and capture of the 
British ship. Boston greets Captain Hull 
on his return. The old ship sails again, 
commanded by Captain Bainbridge, and cap- 
tures the frigate Java, after a severe fight. 
The English ship is blown up and Bain- 
bridge returns to Boston to receive honors. 
The Constitution sails under Captain Stew- 
art, on her third cruise. Off the Western 
Islands encounters the frigate Cyane and 
the sloop-of-war Levant and captures them 
both in an hour. The Cyane brought safely 
home and taken into our service. The Le- 
vant recaptured by the British. 



xvi Contents 



CHAPTER VII 

The Remarkable Cruise of the Frigate 
" Essex " and her Capture in Valparaiso 
Harbor 118 

The Essex sails from Salem in search of the 
frigate Thetis and captures British cruiser 
Alert. Capture of the Nocton. Porter decides 
to enter the Pacific. Captures the Peruvian 
cruiser Nevada and recaptures the whaler 
Barclay. Captures the whalers Georgiana 
and Policy and arms them as cruisers. 
Captures the Atlantic and Greenwich with 
abundant stores and provisions. Lieuten- 
ant Downes captures the Catherine Rose 
and Hector. Rose sent as a cartel to St. 
Helena with prisoners. Porter renames the 
Atlantic and commissions her with Downes 
in command. Grand jollification of the Fourth 
of July. Five of the prizes sent to Val- 
paraiso in convoy of the Essex Junior. The 
Essex captures three more prizes and ren- 
dezvouses at the Gallapagos Islands. Cap- 
tures the Sir Andrew Hammond and goes 
to Nukahiva to refit. With the Essex Junior 
starts for Valparaiso. The British ships 
Phoebe and Cherub come into Valparaiso in 
search of the Essex. The desperate fight of 
the Essex with the two British ships and the 
loss of the American ship. 

CHAPTER VIII 

The " Wasp " and her Contests with the 
" Frolic " and the " Reindeer " and 
" Avon." Capture op the Tender of the 
" Hebrus " 136 

The Wasp captures the Frolic. The Wasp and 
Frolic retaken by the Poictiers. The second 



Contents xvii 



Wasp captures the Reindeer in English 
Channel. Also takes several other prizes 
and later sinks the Avon. Wasp cruises 
forty days in Channel, captures many prizes 
and is never again heard from. A dashing 
capture by boats of the tender of British 
frigate Hebrus. 

CHAPTER IX 

The " Hornet " Captures the British Ships 
" Peacock " and " Penguin " and the 
" Peacock " Captures the " Epervier." 
Capture op "Macedonian" by the "United 
States" 148 

Captain Lawrence captures the British ship 
Peacock off the Demerara River. The Hor- 
net, in 1815, captures the Penguin and she 
is destroyed. Hornet chased by the Corn- 
wallis, 74. The Peacock captures the Eper- 
vier. The United States captures the frigate 
Macedonian. 

CHAPTER X 

The " Chesapeake " and the " Shannon " . 159 

Captain Lawrence ordered to the command of 
the frigate Chesapeake. Difficulty in secur- 
ing a crew for the ship. Captain Broke sends 
in a challenge. The Chesapeake sails from 
Boston. Incidents of the engagement. Cap- 
tain Lawrence killed. Broke boards and the 
Chesapeake is taken. 

CHAPTER XI 
The Battle op Lake Erie .... 170 

Perry ordered to Lake Erie to organize a fleet. 
Strenuous work to get his vessels ready to 
meet the enemy. The battle. Perry changes 



xvni 



Contents 



his flag from the L— tot* J ^ 
and leads her to , v ctoiy.^ perry , de _ 

fsr ^ p^° tion and the vanous 

honors bestowed. 

CHAPTER XII 

THE BiTTLE . ^.s^-SST: 189 

STRUCTION OF THE U ^ LaWMsNC 10 " 18.) 

AND THE CAP-- O'JHKJT; l ^ ^^ 

Captain MacDonougl ^rdere^ ^^ 

plain. He ^uiWb h« fl*gsh P ready for 
in forty days and ge a ■ * » n Cap . 

service. The battle j at Plattsb g ^ 

tain Downie tolled Hi .flee The pri . 

surrenders. H<«o« tofte . n 

vate- G,era' £*££ from a British 
S° r The pnvatee? Chasseur captures the 
St. Lawrence. 

CHAPTER XIII ^ 

cedents. Ordered to ** J^ 1 * of vo yage. 
suspicious behavior on flrrtp^ ^ ^ 
Discovery of the plot. tQ Commande r 

Wales reveals the P Spencer 

McK enzie. It x^£j top ^ also 
under arrest. Small an d The prm - 

rested. A court-martial ordere ^ for 

• i, eantpnced to death. Ari<i"& 
cipals sentenced t lt# ih e 

the execution. Spencerco rf thfi 

three men are executed, up 



Contents xix 

PAGE 

public upon the case. Captain McKenzie 
tried by court-martial and acquitted. Loss 
of the Somers in Gulf of Mexico. 

CHAPTER XIV 
Ellet's Steam Rams in the Fight at 

Memphis ....... 215 

Charles Ellet suggests the idea of constructing 
steam rams to the Secretary of War. He 
predicts the havoc to be wrought by the 
Merrimac if she comes out. After the con- 
test in Hampton Roads Ellet made colonel 
and given authority to build rams on West- 
ern waters. Fort Pillow evacuated. The 
fight above Memphis. The Monarch sinks 
the General Price and the Queen of the 
West cuts the General Lovell in two. The 
Monarch disables the Beauregard. Colonel 
Ellet wounded. Complete victory over the 
Confederate river fleet. Death and state 
funeral of Colonel Ellet. 

CHAPTER XV 
The Capture of the " Harriet Lane " at 

Galveston 223 

The Confederate preparations for the assault 
upon the Federal fleet at Galveston. The 
first gun on New Year's morning the signal 
for the attack. The Bayou City's New 
Year's present. The Neptune sunk by a 
shot from the Harriet Lane. The Bayou 
City runs her aboard and carries her after 
the captain and executive officer are killed. 
The Westfield blown up with her commander. 
Escape of the Clifton, Owasco, Sachem, and 
Corypheus. Burial of Captain Wainwright 
and Lieutenant-Commander Lea. Sinking of 
the Hatteras by the Alabama. 



xx Contents 



CHAPTER XVI 

The Duel between the " Monitor " and the 

"Merrimac" 230 

The arming and equipping of the ram Merri- 
mac. Her appearance in Hampton Roads in 
March, 1862. She attacks and sinks the 
U. S. S. Cumberland. The Congress, fast 
aground, is next attacked and captured. She 
is fired and her crew taken off. The Merri- 
mac retires for the night. The Monitor 
arrives and prepares for the battle. The 
Merrimac comes down in the morning to 
complete the destruction of the fleet but is 
met by the Monitor. The duel between the 
two ironclads. Both are impregnable. The 
Merrimac retires and the victory is with 
the Monitor. Final destruction of the Merri- 
mac and loss of the Monitor at sea. 



CHAPTER XVII 

The Capture of New Orleans by Farragut 245 

The selection of a flag officer for the contem- 
plated attack upon the defences of New Or- 
leans. Farragut notifies his wife and enjoins 
secrecy. The fleet and the troops rendez- 
vous at head of the passes. The character 
of the defences. Orders for running the 
batteries. Order of sailing. The night be- 
fore the attack. The chain opened by Cald- 
well. The fleet under way. The Hartford 
grounds and is on fire. The ubiquitous 
Manassas. The Varuna sunk. The Missis- 
sippi destroys the Manassas. The Brooklyn 
sinks the Warrior. The Kennebec and 
Winona forced to return. Victorious fleet 
anchors at Quarantine. They proceed up 



Contents xxi 

PAGE 

the river, skirmish at Chalmette, and an- 
chor off New Orleans. Wild disorder in 
city. Refusal of mayor to surrender. Land- 
ing of armed parties from fleet and flag 
raised over city. Arrival of General Butler 
and formal occupation of city by his force. 

CHAPTER XVIII 

Building the Red River Dam . . . 266 

Combined naval and military movement under- 
taken on Red River. Porter's fleet ascends 
the river to Alexandria. News of reverses to 
Banks's army causes a retreat to be ordered. 
Rapid fall of the river prevents gunboats 
from getting below the falls. Colonel Bailey 
builds a dam and releases the gunboats from 
their perilous position. Summary of results. 

CHAPTER XIX 

The Destruction of the Ram " Albemarle " 277 

The Confederate ram Albemarle built to con- 
trol Albemarle Sound. Her contest with the 
Southfield and Miami. She sinks the South- 
field. Captain Flusser killed. Engagement 
with the Sassacus whose boiler explodes and 
Federal fleet withdraws. First attempt to 
torpedo Albemarle fails. Lieutenant Cush- 
ing formulates plan for sinking the vessel, 
which is successful. Cushing's report of the 
affair. Admiral Porter's praise of Cush- 
ing. He receives thanks of Congress and is 
promoted. His services at taking of Fort 
Fisher. 

CHAPTER XX 

The " Kearsarge " and " Alabama " Fight . 284 
Arrival of the Alabama at Cherbourg. Cap- 
tain Winslow hears of this at Antwerp. 
Sails at once to meet his enemy. Semmes 



xxii Contents 

PAGE 

accepts Winslow's challenge and comes out 
to meet the Kearsarge. The battle in the 
channel. The Kearsarge the victor, re- 
ceiving little damage. The Alabama sinks. 
Officers and crew saved by Kearsarge and 
English yacht Deerhound. 

CHAPTER XXI 

The Battle in Mobile Bay .... 292 

The crowning achievement of Farragut's 
naval career. The defences of Mobile Bay. 
Buchanan's formidable flagship the Ten- 
nessee. Farragut's arrangements for entering 
the bay. The fleet gets under way. Con- 
federate fleet takes position in opposition. 
The Tecumseh blown up. The Brooklyn 
pauses and throws line into confusion. 
Farragut dashes ahead and takes the lead. 
Conflict with the Tennessee. Destruction 
and capture of enemy's gunboats. The fleet 
anchors. The Tennessee comes out from un- 
der the forts and is finally mobbed to death 
and captured. Farragut goes north after 
his victory and is present at surrender of 
Richmond with President Lincoln. Is made 
Admiral of the Navy by action of Congress. 
His European cruise in the Franklin and 
superb reception at foreign courts. Re- 
turns to United States and dies in 1870. 

CHAPTER XXII 

United States Ships Cast Ashore by Tidal 
Waves and Hurricanes. The " Mononga- 
hela," " De Soto," and " Wateree " Cast 
Ashore by Tidal Waves .... 303 

The U. S. S. Monongahela carried ashore by a 
tidal wave at the island of St. Croix, and 



Contents xxiii 

PAGE 

is carried back by a receding wave to a reef 
in the harbor. As a result of the catastrophe 
two naval marriages are celebrated. The 
De Soto thrown ashore at St. Thomas and 
carried back by a receding wave. The 
Wateree thrown ashore at Arica, sold and 
converted into a summer hotel. Total de- 
struction of the Fredonia with great loss of 
life. The loss of the U. S. S. Trenton, 
Nipsic, and Vandalia in a hurricane at Apia, 
island of Samoa, in March, 1889. The 
Trenton prepares for heavy weather, but the 
hurricane sets her adrift with four anchors 
down. The British ship Calliope slips, and 
narrowly avoiding a collision with the Tren- 
ton, after receiving the cheers of her crew, 
gets safely to sea. Comments of the Eng- 
lish press. Fate of the Vandalia and death 
of Captain Schoonmaker. The survivors 
sent to San Francisco. Loss of the U. S. S. 
Saginaw and the 1500-mile trip of her boat 
in search of aid. Loss of Lieutenant Talbot 
in the surf at Kanai. Rescue of surviving 
officers and crew of Saginaw. 

CHAPTER XXIII 

The Destruction of the " Maine " . . 323 

The battle-ship Maine ordered to Havana. She 
arrives and is moored to a buoy hereto- 
fore unused. Cool reception of officers by the 
authorities and public. The explosion on 
the night of February 15th. Reception of 
news of the disaster in the United States. 
The official investigation. Decision that ex- 
plosion was caused by explosion of mine 
outside the vessel. Action of Congress and 
declaration of war with Spain. The Ma- 



xxiv Contents 

PAGE 

chias and Winslow go into Cardenas harbor 
to destroy Spanish gunboats; next day, with 
Wilmington and Hudson, they renew the at- 
tack. Brisk engagement. Death of Ensign 
Bagley. The Hudson tows the Winslow 
safely out and the Wilmington destroys the 
Spanish gunboats. 

CHAPTER XXIV 

Dewey in Manila Bay 337 

Secretary Long telegraphs to Dewey at Yoko- 
hama to be in readiness for war with Spain. 
Dewey's characteristic letter to his sister. He 
sails for Manila. Reconnoitres Subig Bay. 
Passes Corregidor and opens on Spanish fleet. 
Passes five times by the enemy's ships. De- 
stroys Montojo's flagship and withdraws his 
ships for breakfast. The engagement re- 
newed. Total destruction of Spanish fleet. 
Dewey made Rear Admiral and receives other 
honors from Congress and from his native 
State. 

CHAPTER XXV 

The Race of the " Oregon " around Cape 

Horn 346 

Captain Edgar Clark ordered to command 
the Oregon, which is to join the fleet for the 
attack on Cuba. The Marietta to precede 
her and make advance arrangements for 
coaling. The Oregon enters the Straits of 
Magellan. Three days lost in transferring 
wool from the coal. Captain Clark warned 
of Spanish torpedo-boat at Monte Video. 
Oregon arrives at Rio de Janeiro safely. 
Receives news of Dewey's victory at 



Contents xxv 



PAGE 

Manila. The torpedo-boat Temerario fails 
to materialize. Oregon arrives at Key 
West. Captain Clark congratulated upon 
successful voyage by Secretary of Navy. 

CHAPTER XXVI 

Hobson Sinks the " Merrimac " in Santiago 

Harbor 356 

Admiral Sampson decides to obstruct the 
harbor by sinking the collier Merrimac in 
the entrance. Consults with Assistant Na- 
val Constructor Hobson upon plans. Hob- 
son formulates a plan and asks to be 
allowed to take the vessel in. His request 
granted. Volunteers called for. A general 
response. Seven selected. The ship stripped 
and arrangements made for speedy sinking. 
The start made. The Merrimac sighted by 
the picket boat. The batteries open upon 
her. Furious fire as the ship sinks. The 
crew cling to a catamaran and are rescued 
by Admiral Cervera. Hobson taken on board 
the Reina Mercedes as a prisoner. News of 
his capture sent off by flag-of-truce boat to 
Admiral Sampson. The prisoners sent to 
the Morro, where they are kept for a month 
before exchange. 

CHAPTER XXVII 

The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet at 

Santiago 300 

The elusive fleet at last placed at Santiago. 
The quiet Sunday morning of July 3d. Ad- 
miral Sampson starts for Siboney in the 
New York to confer with General Sh after. 
The signal " Enemy's ships coming out " 



xxvi Contents 



startles the fleet into activity. The Maria 
Teresa leads the hostile procession. She is 
quickly driven ashore a blazing wreck. The 
Oquendo next meets her fate and the Viz- 
caya follows suit. The Gloucester takes care 
of the Pluton and Furor and the Cristobal 
Colon, after a forty-eight miles' run, suc- 
cumbs to the fire of the Oregon and Brook- 
lyn and runs ashore and surrenders. Com- 
plete annihilation of Spain's last and finest 
squadron. 

CHAPTER XXVIII 

The Cruise of the Battle-Ship Fleet around 

the World ....... 373 

Index ........ 385 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The Battleship Fleet at Anchor in San 
Francisco Harbor. The " Maryland " in 
Foreground . . . Frontispiece 
(Copyright, 1908, by Enrique Muller.) 

Joshua Barney 20 

From an engraving after a miniature by 
Isabey. 

Commodore Esek Hopkins .... 26 

From a mezzotint portrait published by 
Thomas Hart in London in 1776. 

Isaac Hull 44 

From the painting by Gilbert Stuart. 

Decatur's Struggle with the Algerines . 50 
From the drawing by F. O. C. Darley. 

The Engagement between the "Enterprise" 

and the " Boxer " 52 

From an original painting. 

Commodore William Bainbridge ... 54 
From the painting by Gilbert Stuart. 

United States Ship " Constellation " . . 60 

Commodore John Paul Jones ... 62 
From the portrait by G. W. Peale. 



xxviii Illustrations 



Jacob Jones 64 

From an engraving of the painting by 
Rembrandt Peale. 

Stephen Decatur 98 

From an engraving of the painting by T. 
Sully. 

Commodore Edward Preble .... 108 
From the painting in Faneuil Hall, Boston. 

The Battle between the " Constitution " 

and the " Guerriere," August 19, 1S12 . 112 
From the drawing by G. White. 

The Battle between the " Constitution " 

and the " Java," December 29, 1812 . 120 
From a sketch by Lieut. Buchanan. 

The Engagement between the " Essex " and 
British Ships "Phoebe" and "Cherub," 

March 28, 1814 12(5 

From an old woodcut. 

Johnston Blakeley ..... 130 

From the painting by Gimbrede. 

David Porter ....... 134 

From an engraving of the painting by J. 
Wood. 

The Battle between the " Wasp " and the 

"Frolic," October 18, 1812 . . .136 
From an old print. 



Illustrations xxix 



Admiral David Glasgow Farragut . . 140 

From a photograph taken in New Orleans 
in 1862. 



Isaac Chauncey ...... 144 

From an engraving of the painting by J. 
Wood. 

The " Hornet " and the " Peacock " . . 154 
From an old print. 

James Lawrence 160 

From an engraving by Leney of the por- 
trait by Stuart. 

Lieutenant Augustus Ludlow . . . 164 

The Battle between the " Chesapeake " and 

the " Shannon," June 1, 1813 . . 168 
From the painting by J. E. Schetky. 

The Arrival op the " Chesapeake " and the 

" Shannon " at Halifax .... 170 
From an old print. 

The Battle op Lake Erie .... 172 

Oliver H. Perry 180 

From an engraving of the painting by J. 
W. Jarvis. 

Thomas Macdonough 190 

From an engraving of the painting by J. 
W. Jarvis. 



xxx Illustrations 



The Battle between the " Monitor " and 

"Merrimac" 216 

From an old print. 

The Sinking op the " Monitor " . . . 242 
From the engraving by John Sartain after 
the drawing by J. Hamilton. 

Rear-Admiral Farragut and Fleet-Captain 
Percival Drayton on the Deck op the 
"Hartford" in Mobile Bay in 1864 . 246 
From a photograph. 

The Construction op the Red River Dam . 268 
Drawn by William J. Wilson. 

Lieutenant Cushing's Torpedo Boat Sink- 
ing the " Albemarle " in Roanoke 

River, N. C 280 

From an old woodcut. 

United States Ship " Kearsarge " . . 286 

The " Kearsarge " Sinking the " Alabama " 

off Cherbourg 290 

The Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864 . 292 
From an old woodcut by G. Gibson. 

The Confederate Ironclad " Tennessee " . 294 

From a photograph taken at Algiers, La., 
in 1864. 

Admiral George Dewey 338 

United States Cruiser " Olympia " . . 342 



Illustrations xxxi 

PAGE 

United States Battleship " Oregon " . . 348 

U. S. S. " Connecticut " at Hampton Roads . 374 
(Copyright, 1908, by Enrique Muller.) 

Admiral Robley D. Evans .... 378 

(Copyright, 1907, by Enrique Muller.) 

The Forward Deck of a Modern Battleship 382 
(Copyright, 1908, by Enrique Muller.) 



PART I 

The War of the Revolution 

and 

The War of 1 812 



CHAPTER I 

THE BEGINNING OP THE STRUGGLE 

PREVIOUS to the War of the Revolution 
the North American Colonies possessed no 
naval force, the defence of their seacoast and 
the protection of their commerce being entrusted 
to the British navy. Yet a large number of the 
colonists were more or less acquainted with 
naval affairs. The merchant vessels owned in 
the numerous seaports that had grown up within 
the colonies contributed to form a large body 
of brave, hardy, enterprising, and experienced 
seamen, who, in the early years of the eighteenth 
century, as one hundred years later, in 18G0, 
were ready and willing to officer and man a 
navy that was to be created in a dire emergency. 
As early as 1748, when the peace of Aix-la- 
Chapelle was declared, five hundred vessels are 
said to have cleared from Boston alone, in a 
single year, and four hundred and thirty to 
have entered that port. This was exclusive of 
coasting vessels. The trade of New York and 
Philadelphia was somewhat less than that of 
Boston. 

3 



4 The American Navy 

About this time it became a practice among 
the gentry of the American provinces to cause 
their sons to be entered as midshipmen in the 
royal navy. It is generally known that George 
Washington was intended for such a life and 
that the tender affection of his mother, who 
could not be persuaded to part with her favorite 
son, alone prevented his entry into the British 
naval service. 

Immediately after the peace of 1763 the legis- 
lative usurpation on the part of the mother 
country began, which twenty years later termi- 
nated in the independence of the colonies. 
Fresh attempts to enforce the hated Navigation 
Act were made in 1768 and at Boston a sloop 
from Madeira, loaded with wine, was seized 
by the royal officers and placed under charge of 
the Romney man-of-war. A mob collected and 
the public officers were speedily compelled to 
seek protection in the castle. This overt act of 
violent resistance to authority on the part of 
the patriots was soon followed by the famous 
" tea party " in 1773, which brought forth from 
Parliament in retaliation the Boston Port Bill, 
a high-handed measure that denied the people 
of the town all direct participation in its 
commerce, produced much distress in Boston, 
and caused great indignation throughout the 
country. 

Events now moved quickly and the colonists 
began to prepare seriously for an appeal to 



The Beginning of the Struggle 5 

force to recover vested rights that they had 
lost. A Congress of representatives from the 
different colonies convened and a system of 
organization and concert was adopted to unite 
as many as possible in the fast approaching 
struggle. 

Laws having been passed in England in 1774 
prohibiting the exportation of arms or military 
supplies to American ports, the cannon and 
powder of the Crown were seized by the colo- 
nists at various points. Twenty-six guns of 
different calibres were thus found on Fort 
Island and carried to Providence, and, in all, 
the Rhode Island people are said by these 
bold measures to have got possession of forty 
guns. At Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a body 
of four hundred men marched to the castle at 
the mouth of the harbor, kept the small garri- 
son in check, and breaking open the magazine 
carried off one hundred barrels of powder. 

Among other depots of war material one had 
been made by the patriots at Concord, Massa- 
chusetts. The attempt to destroy this by Gen- 
eral Gage brought on the famous fight at 
Lexington, which was the actual commencement 
of the War of the Revolution. 

Within twenty years after the first settlement 
of Plymouth, ship-building and navigation began 
to occupy much of the attention of New Eng- 
land and as every vessel of any size carried 
light guns the early commerce of the period 



6 The American Navy- 

had most of the characteristics of an armed 
trade. 

The first recorded sea engagement that prob- 
ably ever occurred between inhabitants of the 
American colonies and enemies afloat was the 
rather remarkable conflict between John Gallop, 
captain and owner of a trading sloop of twenty 
tons, and some Narragansett Indians. 

In May, 1636, Gallop, in his little vessel, 
manned by himself, one man, and two boys, was 
compelled by stress of weather to bear up for 
a refuge near Plum Island, in Long Island 
Sound, where he discovered close to the shore 
a pinnace, very similar to his own, which he at 
once recognized as that of a Mr. Oldham, who 
to his knowledge had lately sailed on a trading 
expedition with a crew of two white boys and 
two Narragansett Indians. 

Gallop hailed, but receiving no answer, he ran 
closer in, when he discovered fourteen Indians 
lying on the deck of the pinnace. A canoe 
manned by Indians and loaded with goods had 
just started for the shore. Gallop's suspicion 
that Oldham had been overpowered by the 
savages was confirmed by the Indians slipping 
the cable of the pinnace and standing off before 
the wind in the direction of Narragansett Bay. 

The brave fellow, undaunted by the superior- 
ity in numbers of his opponents, at once made 
sail in chase and running alongside of the pin- 
nace fired a volley of duck shot point blank at 



The Beginning of the Struggle 7 

the Indians. The savages, having swords, spears, 
and some firearms, attempted a resistance, 
but Gallop by the rapidity and precision of his 
fire soon drove them below. Fearing to board, 
in the face of such odds, Gallop allowed the 
pinnace to drift to leeward, while he hauled 
his own vessel by the wind, and then, putting 
his helm up, ran down with a free sheet on the 
weather quarter of the pinnace, striking her 
with such force as to nearly capsize the little 
vessel. 

The Indians were now so much alarmed that 
six of them rushed frantically on deck and 
leaped into the sea, where they were all drowned 
before they could reach the shore. The sloop 
was again hauled off and Gallop lashed his an- 
chor over the bows in such a way that as he 
ran the pinnace down the second time the fluke 
of the anchor was forced through the frail 
side of the little vessel, making an opening 
through which Gallop and his crew opened fire 
on the Indians sheltered in the hold. 

Finding it impossible, however, to dislodge his 
enemies in this manner, Gallop loosened his 
fasts and hauled up to windward a third time 
to renew his ramming tactics, when four 
or five more Indians jumped overboard and 
speedily shared the fate of the others in the 
rough water. An unarmed Indian now appear- 
ing on deck and, by signs, offering submission, 
Gallop ran his shallop alongside, received his 



8 The American Navy 

captive, and, binding him hand and foot, put 
him safely in the hold. Another man soon ap- 
peared and was also bound, but, on second 
thought, fearing to increase the number of his 
prisoners, Gallop decided to throw him into the 
sea and let him take his chance. 

Only two Indians now remained in the pin- 
nace, but as they had got into the cabin and, 
being armed, were difficult to dislodge, Gallop, 
like John Gilpin, being of a prudent turn, provi- 
dently removed all the goods that remained to his 
own sloop, stripped the pinnace of her sails, and, 
taking her in tow, hauled up for the islands 
again. The wind, however, freshened to such 
a degree that Gallop finally decided to cut the 
pinnace adrift and abandon her. 

The body of Mr. Oldham was found on board 
the pinnace fearfully mangled, the flesh still 
warm. The report of Captain Gallop of this 
affair induced the Governor of the Massachusetts 
Colony to send a punitive expedition, under 
Endicott, against the Narragansetts, which in- 
flicted much injury to their dwellings and crops. 

The first colonial sea-fight after the battle of 
Bunker Hill was the curious partisan conflict 
at Machias, Maine, that resulted in the capture 
of the British armed cutter Margaretta, Lieu- 
tenant Moore, in June, 1775. The cutter had 
been ordered to Machias, with two sloops in con- 
voy, to obtain lumber for the construction of 
barracks for the royal troops occupying Boston. 



The Beginning of the Struggle 9 

News of the commencement of hostilities hav- 
ing reached Machias soon after the arrival of 
the Margaretta the patriots of that settlement 
determined to frustrate this effort of the royal 
government to obtain the needed building 
materials. 

Since his arrival at Machias Lieutenant Moore 
had made himself very obnoxious to the villagers, 
especially by his arrogant demand that the 
liberty pole on the village green be taken down, 
under threat of opening fire upon the town. A 
public meeting was called and voted not to take 
the pole down and word was privately sent out to 
the surrounding settlements for aid. On Sunday, 
May 10th, the inhabitants began to assemble, 
armed with such muskets as they could collect. 
An incident is related in the History of Machias 
that clearly shows the temper of the people in 
those days. The men who came from Pleasant 
Eiver were short of powder, having only two 
or three charges each. One of them, Josiah 
Weston, in his haste having forgotten his powder 
horn, his wife Hannah, seventeen years old, 
accompanied by her sister, followed the trail 
through the woods, carrying a bag of ammuni- 
tion weighing forty pounds ; and reached Machias 
the next day. 

It was planned to capture Lieutenant Moore 
and his officers in church, on Sunday, but un- 
fortunately Moore, who sat near the window, 
saw the assailants gathering, became suspicious, 



io The American Navy 

and escaped, with his officers, by the open 
window to the shore, where he gave the alarm. 
Spring's were at once got upon the Margaretta's 
cable and by way of intimidation a few harm- 
less shots were fired over the town, before the 
cutter got under weigh and dropped down 
the river. The townsfolk, however, followed the 
little vessel and harassed her from the high 
banks of the river, until she ran into the bay, 
where, at the confluence of the rivers, she 
anchored. 

But the patriots were not yet satisfied and 
the following morning, Monday, May 11th, four 
young men took possession of the lumber sloop 
Unity and bringing her alongside a wharf an- 
nounced their intention of capturing the royal 
vessel. A party of forty men was soon col- 
lected and with twenty guns, many of them fowl- 
ing pieces, thirteen pitchforks, a few scythes, 
and ten or twelve axes, they made sail on their 
daring adventure against a vessel armed with 
four light guns in broadside and fourteen swivels, 
with a trained crew of regular seamen. Lieu- 
tenant Moore seems to have used every available 
means to avoid a collision, even resorting to 
cutting away his boats, which were in tow, as 
the sloop came up with him. 

At last finding that his assailants were rapidly 
gaining upon him he opened fire, and a man 
was killed on board the sloop. The fire was 
immediately returned by a man named Knight, 



The Beginning of the Struggle 1 1 

from an old-fashioned " wall piece," loaded with 
slugs. This discharge not only killed the man 
at the Margaretta's helm but also cleared her 
quarter-deck of combatants, and, as the cutter 
broached to, the sloop's crew, delivering a 
general discharge of musketry, boarded, as the 
vessels came together. Lieutenant Moore en- 
deavored to repulse the boarders by throwing 
hand grenades, with considerable effect, but he 
was shot down and the vessel was soon taken 
possession of. The loss on both sides is said 
to have been twenty killed and wounded. 

This affair, that has been called " the Lexing- 
ton of the sea," was a sudden, unorganized rising 
of the people against a regular force. The party 
was originally without a leader, but at the last 
moment Jeremiah O'Brien was chosen by his 
comrades to command the sloop, and under 
his orders the armament of the captured Mar- 
garetta was transferred to a sloop. A month 
later she sailed on a cruise, actually capturing 
two armed English vessels, carrying jointly eight 
guns and sixteen swivels, sent out from Halifax 
to secure O'Brien. The skill and daring displayed 
by this partisan leader in these two affairs se- 
cured the attention of the Colonial Council and 
O'Brien was appointed a captain in the marine 
of the colony and sent to sea with his prizes 
with orders to intercept vessels bringing in 
supplies to the royal forces. 

Captain O'Brien was equally successful in this 



12 The American Navy 

duty, recapturing a schooner that had fallen 
into the hands of the enemy and also a cutter 
and two barges with thirty-five men, under the 
command of a lieutenant of the royal navy. 
Later O'Brien commanded several privateers 
and was captured by the British in 1780, con- 
fined for six months in the Jersey, prison-ship, 
and finally was sent to England and incar- 
cerated in the Mill Prison. He escaped from 
this place, however, and crossed the English 
Channel to France in a fishing boat and re- 
turned to America, just as hostilities ended. 
One of our torpedo boats is named the O'Brien 
in honor of this Captain Jeremiah O'Brien. 

In May, 1776, General Artemas Ward, who 
had been placed by Washington in command of 
the Continental forces in Boston, after its 
evacuation by the British, commissioned Cap- 
tain Mugford, an adventurous Marbleheader, 
and gave him command of the small schooner 
Franklin of fifty tons, armed with four guns. 
After having commissioned Mugford, however, 
General Ward, influenced by reports derogatory 
to the captain's character, despatched an ex- 
press revoking his orders, but fortunately, as it 
proved, Mugford had already sailed. 

The Franklin had not fairly got out of the 
bay when she sighted a large armed ship, the 
Hope, a vessel of three hundred tons, mounting 
six guns and loaded with military supplies for 
the British garrison lately in Boston. Notwith- 



The Beginning of the Struggle 13 

standing the British squadron under Commodore 
Banks was in sight in Nantasket Roads, Mug- 
ford bore down on the Hope and, by a coup de 
main, boarded her without serious opposition. 
While the Americans, however, were busily en- 
gaged in taking possession of their prize, the 
English captain ordered his men to cut her top- 
sail halliards and ties, with a view of impeding 
the sailing of the ship, thereby giving the boats 
of the squadron time to come up. But Mug- 
ford, sensible of the danger he was in, threat- 
ened the seamen with immediate death if the 
captain's orders were obeyed, and by his reso- 
lute manner deterred them from the attempt at 
rescue until he had brought the ship through 
Broad Sound into Boston harbor. His prize 
proved of enormous value to the Continental 
arms, as her cargo included fifteen hundred 
barrels of powder, one thousand carbines, a 
number of gun carriages, and a complete assort- 
ment of artillery implements and pioneer tools. 
As soon as Mugford saw his prize safe in 
port he again put to sea, but the tide making 
against him, he anchored for the night off Pud- 
ding-gut Point. At daybreak next morning he 
discovered thirteen man-of-war boats pulling 
toward him from the English fleet. The gallant 
captain at once prepared for repelling boarders, 
by getting springs on his cables, tricing up board- 
ing nettings, and having a quantity of twelve- 
pound shot heated red hot in his galley. As the 



H The American Navy 

boats drew near lie opened so murderous a fire 
as actually to sink five of them before they got 
alongside. The crews of the remaining boats 
attempted to board, but they were received with 
hot shot dropped into the boats and those of 
the crew that managed to climb up the Frank- 
lin's side had their hands cut off as they laid 
them over the gunwales of the schooner. 

The brave Mugford, while making a blow with 
his cutlass at one of the enemy, received a 
mortal gunshot wound in his breast. Retain- 
ing his presence of mind, however, he called to 
his lieutenant, " I am a dead man, but do not 
give up the vessel, you. will be able to beat them ; 
if not, cut the cable and run the schooner on 
shore ! " In a few moments the gallant fel- 
low expired. The lieutenant ran the schooner 
on shore as directed and the boats withdrew with 
a loss of seventy men in the short but fatal 
engagement. The American loss was only one 
man killed, beside the gallant Mugford. 1 

The Connecticut Colony brig Defence, fourteen 
guns, Captain Seth Harding, was working out of 
Plymouth Bay early on the morning of June 
17, 1776, when a desultory firing to the north- 
ward attracted the attention of her commander, 
who at once crowded sail in the direction of 
the cannonading. About dusk he fell in with 
four small American schooners, which had been 

1 Pennsylvania Magazine. 



The Beginning of the Struggle 15 

having a running fight with two British trans- 
ports, the Annabella and the Howe, that had 
proved too heavy for them. After beating off 
the schooners, the transports had gone into Nan- 
tasket Roads and anchored for the night. One 
of the schooners was the Lee, 8, Captain Daniel 
Waters, the other three were privateers. 

After consulting with the other captains, 
Harding stood into the Roads and at about 
eleven o'clock he anchored between the trans- 
ports, within pistol shot. Some hailing now en- 
sued and Captain Harding boldly ordered the 
enemy to strike. A voice from the larger Eng- 
lish vessel answered, " Ay, ay — I '11 strike," and 
a broadside was immediately poured into the 
Defence. The Americans responded and a sharp 
action, that lasted more than an hour, followed, 
when both British vessels surrendered. These 
transports contained nearly two hundred soldiers 
of the Seventy-first Regiment, the same corps 
as those shortly after taken by the Doria, and 
among the officers was Lieutenant-Colonel Camp- 
bell, commanding the regiment. At the close of 
the fight the Defence was a good deal cut up 
aloft and had nine men wounded. The British 
loss was eighteen killed, and a large number 
wounded. Among the slain was Major Menzies, 
the officer who had answered the hail in the 
manner above mentioned. 

The next morning the Defence sighted a sail 
in the bay and gave chase, capturing another 



16 The American Navy 

transport, the John and George, with six guns, 
having more than one hundred men of the 
Seventy-first Eegiment on board. Thus did 
nearly three hundred men of one of the best corps 
in the British army fall into the hands of the 
Americans through the daring of the commander 
of this light cruiser. The Defence was lost in 
1779 in the ill-fated Penobscot expedition. 

Captain Daniel Waters, who so successfully 
aided in the capture of the two British trans- 
ports, received a commission in the colonial 
navy in recognition of his gallant conduct in 
that affair. In 1778, while in command of the 
sixteen-gun ship Thorn, Captain Waters fell in 
with the British sixteen-gun brig Governor 
Tryon in company with the Sir William Erskine, 
18, Captain Hamilton. Waters at once closed 
with the two British vessels and after an action 
lasting two hours, in which the English Cap- 
tain Stebbins was killed, compelled both vessels 
to surrender. On the passage home Captain 
Waters captured the ship Spartan, eighteen guns 
and ninety-seven men, after an action of fifty 
minutes, and although his prize the Governor 
Tryon escaped under cover of night, just before 
reaching Boston, he brought the Sir William 
Erskine and the Spartan safely into port. 

THE CAPTURE OF THE " GASPE " 

One of the early acts of resistance to the 



The Beginning of the Struggle 17 

Crown occurred in 1772 in the waters of Rhode 
Island. A British vessel of war had been sta- 
tioned on the coast to enforce the laws, and a 
small schooner called the Gaspe, with a light 
armament and twenty-seven men, was employed 
as a tender to run into the shallow waters of 
the coast. On June 17, 1772, a Providence 
packet that ran between New York and Rhode 
Island named the Hannah, commanded by a Cap- 
tain Linzee, hove in sight of the man-of-war, on 
her passage up the bay. The packet was ordered 
to heave to, in order to be examined; but her 
master refused to comply; and being favored by 
a fresh southerly wind that was sweeping him 
out of gunshot, the Gaspe was signalled to fol- 
low. The chase continued for twenty-five miles, 
under a press of sail, when the Hannah coming 
up with a bar, with which her master was 
familiar, and drawing less water than the 
schooner, Captain Linzee craftily led the tender 
on a shoal, where she struck. The tide falling, 
the Gaspe was not in a condition to be removed 
for several hours. 

The news of the chase was quickly circulated 
among the citizens of Providence. A strong 
feeling was excited among the population and 
toward evening the town drummer appeared in 
the streets assembling the people. As soon as 
a crowd was collected the drummer led his fol- 
lowers in front of a shed that stood near one 
of the stores, when a man disguised as an 



1 8 The American Navy 

Indian suddenly appeared on the roof and pro- 
claimed a secret expedition for that night, 
inviting all of " stout hearts " to assemble on 
the wharf precisely at nine, disguised like him- 
self. At the appointed hour most of the men 
in the place collected at the spot designated, 
when sixty-four of the stoutest were selected for 
the undertaking that was in view. 

This party embarked in eight of the launches 
of different vessels lying at the wharves, and 
taking with them a quantity of paving stones, 
they pulled down the river in a body. The com- 
mander of this naval expedition is supposed to 
have been a Captain Whipple, who afterward 
held a commission in the colonial navy. On 
nearing the Gaspe, about two in the morning, 
the boats were hailed by a sentinel on deck. 
This man was driven below by a volley of 
stones. The commander of the Gaspe now ap- 
peared and, ordering the boats off, he fired a 
pistol at them. This shot was returned from 
a musket and the officer was shot in the 
thigh. By this time the crew of the Gaspe had 
assembled and the party from Providence 
boarded. The conflict was short but decisive, 
the schooner's people being knocked down and 
secured. All on board were then put in the 
boats, and the Gaspe was set on fire. Towards 
morning she blew up. 

Great indignation was excited among the 
British sympathizers by this bold step and the 



The Beginning of the Struggle 19 

government offered a reward of £1000 for 
the leader of the party and £500 to any person 
who would discover other parties implicated, 
but no arrests were made. 



CHAPTER II 

COMMODORE JOSHUA BARNEY 

IN the brilliant record of this distinguished 
sea officer are found combined all the ele- 
ments of romance and adventure formerly 
considered necessary to the construction of the 
old-fashioned three volume novel, such as de- 
lighted the hearts of our ancestors. 

Joshua Barney, one of fourteen children of 
William and Frances Holland Barney, was born 
June 6, 1759, at Bare Creek, which afterward 
became a part of the city of Baltimore, Mary- 
land. In 1772, at the age of twelve, after a 
probationary term of one year in a pilot boat, 
young Barney made his first voyage to sea, in 
a little brig bound to Cork. During the next 
two years he made several other voyages to 
European ports and at fourteen he had attained 
such proficiency in his profession that he was 
made second mate of the ship Sidney, although 
he was still rated on the ship's papers as an 
apprentice. 

In December, 1774, the Sidney sailed from 
Baltimore for Nice, but the vessel had scarcely 
cleared the Capes of Virginia before she sprang 
a leak and was forced to put back to Norfolk 
for repairs. There the first mate quarrelled with 




JOSHUA BARNEY 

From an engraving after a miniature by Isabey 



Commodore Joshua Barney 21 

the captain, left the ship, and when the vessel 
finally went to sea Barney was promoted to his 
place. A few days after sailing the master, 
Captain Drysdale, was taken ill and died within 
a week, thus leaving Barney, at the age of four- 
teen years and six months, thrown upon his own 
resources, with all the responsibilities attached 
to the command of a leaky ship, with a valuable 
cargo, and a large crew to manage and control. 

After burying the commander, young Barney 
turned his attention to the safety of the ship, 
and for three weeks it was necessary to main- 
tain incessant labor at the pumps, supplemented 
by bailing with buckets from the fore peak and 
after run, to keep the vessel afloat. After 
weary weeks of this work, as they entered the 
Mediterranean a heavy gale set in, the leak in- 
creased, and it became evident that they must 
put into Gibraltar as their only hope of safety. 
There the young captain made application for 
a permit to enter the King's Dock, where it 
was found three months would be required for 
the needed repairs. 

It can be readily understood that a very vex- 
atious problem was presented to the British 
authorities in the appearance of a lad, not yet 
fifteen, borne on the ship's papers as an ap- 
prentice, coming into port as master of a ship, 
laden with a valuable cargo of grain. Barney, 
however, was fully equal to the occasion and 
fortunately found, in the firm of Murray & Son, 



22 The American Navy 

wise and competent advisers, who, upon the 
young man's personal responsibility, advanced 
him |3500.00, taking as their security a Bottomry 
Bond, made payable ten days after the arrival 
of the repaired ship at Nice. Arrived at the 
destined port young Barney's troubles were re- 
newed and an unexpected opportunity was 
presented for testing the courage, determination, 
and wonderful powers of resource that marked 
this man's character through life. 

The consignees of the cargo of wheat, believ- 
ing that neither they nor the ship could be held 
legally responsible for the contract of a minor, 
and an apprentice, determined to evade, if pos- 
sible, the payment of the bond. Barney, how- 
ever, was equally determined that the bond 
should be paid, as agreed, from the proceeds of 
the cargo. The merchants remonstrated and 
menaced, but the young man's resolution was 
not to be shaken. He was then summoned be- 
fore the Governor, who commanded him to in- 
stantly commence the delivery of the cargo to 
the consignees, or bear the consequences, but 
Barney stubbornly persisted in his refusal to 
deliver the grain until the just claims of Messrs. 
Murray were satisfied. His Excellency, now 
thoroughly incensed, ordered the presumptuous 
stripling to leave his presence. Barney, very com- 
posedly, retired, but at the foot of the stairway he 
was surrounded by a guard of soldiers, arrested, 
and without ceremony was committed to prison. 



Commodore Joshua Barney 23 

After several hours of incarceration in a 
filthy Sardinian dungeon and taking the sober 
second thought, for which he had full oppor- 
tunity, Barney decided that it might possibly 
be wiser to dissemble, and thus avoid the pos- 
sible confiscation of his ship. He accordingly 
sent word to the Governor that he was ready 
to yield the point in contest and accept his 
liberty on the proffered terms. The young man 
was at once set free and he returned to his 
ship, where his first step was to hoist the British 
flag at her peak and beneath its folds he in- 
formed the Sardinian officer, temporarily in 
charge, that if he continued his attempts to dis- 
charge the cargo, he should consider his ship 
as captured by a superior force and should 
abandon her, but, he -added, "I shall leave my 
colors flying, that there may be no pretence 
hereafter of ignorance as to the nationality to 
which this insult has been offered ! " Rather 
bold words these, under the circumstances, for 
a lad of fifteen! 

Barney at once mustered his crew and with 
them went on board an English ship lying in 
port, whence, with the assistance of young Mr. 
Murray, who had come on from Gibraltar, he 
made an appeal to the British Ambassador at 
the Court of Sardinia. Barney, accompanied 
by Mr. Murray, set off at once for Milan by 
post-chaise, to present their claim in person. 
The only record preserved of this strange jour- 



24 The American Navy 

ney is in Barney's journal, which reads : " We 
crossed the famous Alps, so noted for snow and 
difficult travel, on mules, we passed through 
Switzerland and arrived at Milan." 

The fiery indignation with which the young 
mariner described the invasion of his ship by 
the Sardinian soldiery evidently communicated 
itself to Sir William Lynch, for the next day 
the Ambassador presented the matter to His Sar- 
dinian Majesty in person. Three days later this 
international incident was closed by Barney's 
return in triumph to Nice to meet an obsequious 
Governor, anxious to conciliate him. As a re- 
sult the full debt to Messrs. Murray was speed- 
ily discharged, the whole expense of the 
journey to Milan was reimbursed and the Gov- 
ernor actually paid a formal visit to the 
ship to apologize for the trouble caused and 
for the unfortunate imprisonment of the young 
commander. The Governor further offered to 
pay any sum he chose to demand by way of 
satisfaction, which Barney very graciously de- 
clined to accept. 

His business being thus satisfactorily finished, 
Barney sailed in the Sidney for Alicante in 
Spain, where he arrived just as the royal ex- 
pedition for the punishment of the Dey of 
Algiers, under the Conde O'Reilly, was about 
sailing. To his great annoyance his vessel was 
detained for employment in the transportation 
of troops. The fleet comprised six line-of-battle 



Commodore Joshua Barney 25 

ships, twelve frigates, and fifty-one smaller ves- 
sels, with three hundred and forty transports, 
carrying thirty thousand troops, one of the most 
splendid and formidable martial arrays that 
Europe had ever before witnessed. The fleet 
anchored before Algiers on July 1st and con- 
troversies and dissensions at once began between 
the naval and military commanders. It was 
not strange then, under these circumstances, 
that when the landing of the army finally took 
place, the victory of the Algerines, who con- 
fronted the Spaniards, was practically assured 
and the repulse of the assailants, with great 
slaughter, was complete. 

Barney returned to his native shores in October 
and on entering Chesapeake Bay learned that 
his countrymen were in a state of rebellion and 
that the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill 
had already been fought. With this exciting 
news seething in his mind he presented himself 
at his owner's counting house. 

"Who are you, sir?" queried the surly old 
merchant, looking up from his desk. 

" I am Joshua Barney, sir, master of your 
ship Sidney, just arrived," was the answer. 

" Master of my ship, are you, sir? And how 
dare you, an apprentice boy, presume to take 
command of a ship of mine? " was the response. 

The " apprentice boy " threw on the desk the 
ship's papers and the accounts of the very pro- 
fitable voyage. " Read these, sir," he replied, 



26 The American Navy 

and turned away to the window. The astonished 
old gentleman put on his spectacles, took up 
the bundle of papers, and slowly and with in- 
creasing astonishment read them through, then 
rising from his chair he seized the young man's 
hand, exclaiming : " Captain Barney, you are 
welcome home, sir! I am glad to see you. I 
congratulate you heartily upon your safe re- 
turn ! Your conduct, throughout, meets my 
cordial approbation, sir, and I am proud that 
I have so deserving a young man in my employ ! 
Take a seat, sir; we shall see what is to be done, 
immediately." 

Thus ended this truly eventful voyage of nine 
months, in which Barney, sailing as an appren- 
tice boy, had been, for eight months, captain 
of the ship and, under most trying conditions, 
had brought her safely home, with satisfactory 
profit to her owner and with credit to himself. 

Scarcely allowing himself time for a visit to 
his mother, our young sailor at once offered his 
services to his country, now in arms, and he was 
ordered, as master's mate, to the ten-gun sloop 
Hornet, Captain Stone, then fitting out at 
Baltimore. There he began recruiting a crew 
for the vessel and by a piece of special good for- 
tune it was his honorable duty to hoist at sunrise, 
upon a staff placed before his rendezvous, to 
the music of fife and drum, a new American 
flag, sent by Commodore Ezek Hopkins from 
Philadelphia. This was the first flag of the new 




COMMODORE ESEK HOPKINS 

From a mezzotint portrait published by Thomas Hart in London in 1776 



Commodore Joshua Barney 27 

nation that had been seen in Maryland. A great 
crowd was attracted by the sight of this new 
flag and before sunset Barney had enlisted a 
full crew for the colonial cruiser Hornet. 

While returning from a cruise down the coast 
of South Carolina, in December, the captain of 
the Hornet was informed by a pilot that the 
British frigate Roebuck, 44, was at anchor in 
the Delaware roads and that her armed tender 
was making prizes of American vessels off the 
capes. Captain Stone, a Bermudian, with little 
stomach for fighting, stood to the northward, 
hoping to avoid the enemy, but before reaching 
Cape May, the tender was sighted and, the 
Hornet's guns being housed, the British vessel 
bore down, thinking she was a coaster. With- 
out waiting for orders, Barney immediately ran 
out one of the guns and, with a lighted match 
in hand, stood prepared for a shot at the ap- 
proaching enemy, but, to his surprise, Stone 
ordered him not to fire, " as he had no inclina- 
tion for shedding blood." At this Barney so 
far forgot discipline as to throw the match staff 
at his commanding officer, who only avoided the 
missile by a rapid movement, the iron point of 
the staff sticking in the poop-house. By this 
time the enemy, discovering that his antagonist 
was an armed vessel, and of superior force, 
sheered off and escaped, to the great disgust of 
Barney and the crew of the Hornet, who had 
been assured of making her a prize. Upon the 



28 The American Navy 

arrival of the vessel in Philadelphia Stone left 
her and abandoned his career in the navy, for 
which he was manifestly unfitted. Barney re- 
mained in command of the Hornet until she 
was put out of commission, when he volunteered 
for the Wasp, Captain Charles Alexander, a 
Scotchman and a most gallant officer. 

In his new field of duty Barney soon found 
full scope for useful and daring work in cut- 
ting out vessels captured by the frigate Roebuck 
and in co-operating with Commodore Hazel- 
wood's fleet of row galleys in the defence of the 
Delaware River. The young officer's efficient 
service in this direction attracted the favorable 
attention of Captain Alexander, so that when 
that gentleman received from Congress a com- 
mission as captain in the navy, he warmly 
recommended his young volunteer to the atten- 
tion of the Marine Committee and as a result 
Barney was also honored with a commission as 
lieutenant in the navy of the United States, 
and ordered to the sloop Sachem, Captain 
Robinson. 

On June 6, 1776, the seventeenth birthday of 
Lieutenant Barney, the Sachem sailed from 
Philadelphia on a cruise and a few days later 
encountered a heavily armed letter-of-marque 
brig, with whom she joined issue. For two 
hours the combat raged, before the enemy 
finally surrendered, the British loss in killed 
and wounded amounting to nearly half her crew. 



Commodore Joshua Barney 29 

The Sachem also suffered severely ; every officer, 
except the captain and Barney, was either killed 
or wounded, while more than a third of the 
crew were disabled. Putting Barney, his first 
lieutenant, on board the prize, Captain Robin- 
son returned to Philadelphia, with both vessels, 
where Robinson and Barney were detached from 
the Sachem and ordered to the Andrea Doria, a 
fine fourteen-gun brig, then ready for sea. 

Robinson's orders were to proceed to the Dutch 
island of St. Eustatius, to take in a quantity of 
arms and ammunition deposited there for the 
Continental States. On leaving St. Eustatius the 
Andrea Doria captured the British brig Race- 
horse, Lieutenant Jones, with twelve guns and 
a picked crew. The engagement was a vigorous 
contest of two hours' duration in which the 
British vessel was badly cut up and had many 
officers and men wounded. Mr. Dunn, second 
lieutenant of the Doria, was placed in charge 
and the two vessels made for the Delaware in 
company. A few days later an armed snow was 
captured and Lieutenant Barney was placed in 
charge of her with a small prize crew, which 
he increased by several volunteers from the Eng- 
lish prisoners. On the 27th of December, after 
a most tempestuous voyage, Barney got into the 
harbor of Chincoteague, where he anchored to 
rest and refresh his wearied crew. On January 
3d, when near Cape Henry, he was chased by 
a ship of war and while endeavoring to make 



30 The American Navy 

sail to escape, bis English prisoners mutinied 
and refused duty. 

Singling out the evident leader of the muti- 
neers, Barney ordered him on peril of his life 
to return to his duty, the man refused, and the 
young lieutenant at once shot him through the 
shoulder. This evidence that their commander 
was very much in earnest quelled the outbreak, 
but it was, unfortunately, then too late, the pur- 
suing ship was upon them, and Barney, with a 
poor grace, surrendered to H. B. M. ship Per- 
seus of twenty guns. 

A thoroughly characteristic incident occurred 
while Barney was a prisoner on board this ship. 
While off Charleston a number of paroled Eng- 
lish prisoners were sent off to her. One of these 
men, in the presence of Barney and the purser 
of the Perseus, was complaining of the treat- 
ment he had received from the " rebels," and 
stated that they " had been used very ill, hav- 
ing received nothing to eat but bad rice mixed 
with sand." The purser, waxing hot at this 
statement, turned fiercely around to Barney and, 
without a word, gave him a blow with his fist. 

With the quickness of lightning Barney — 
prisoner as he was — returned the blow with such 
force as sent the purser sprawling over one of 
the quarter deck guns and before he could be 
restrained followed the blow up by kicking his 
antagonist down the hatchway. A tumult en- 
sued, in the midst of which Captain Elphin- 



Commodore Joshua Barney 3 1 

stone appeared on deck and ordered both the 
combatants to follow him to his cabin. As a 
result of his investigation of the affray the com- 
mander rebuked the purser for his unprovoked 
attack upon a disarmed prisoner, offered Barney, 
on his own part, a most gentlemanly apology 
for the insult, and permitted him to be included 
in a list of paroled prisoners and sent on shore 
in exchange for an English lieutenant lately 
captured by the Americans. 

Barney was again captured the following 
March and held as a prisoner for five months 
on board the Jersey, prison ship, in New York 
harbor. Finally, on being exchanged, in Feb- 
ruary, 1779, his old commander, Captain Robin- 
son, selected him as his first officer for a fine 
letter-of-marque of twelve guns. On the way to 
Bordeaux they beat off, after a severe fight, the 
British privateer Rosebud, of sixteen guns, 
carrying one hundred and twenty men. In this 
engagement the enemy lost forty-seven men. 
Returning from France they were more fortu- 
nate, capturing a letter-of-marque of sixteen 
guns, which Barney took command of and 
brought safely into Philadelphia. 

Having now arrived at the mature age of 
twenty years, and being in receipt of a goodly 
sum in prize money, our hero decided to take 
unto himself a wife, and, after a rather brief 
wooing, he led to the altar Miss Harriet Bed- 
ford, of Philadelphia. It being war time the 



32 The American Navy 

honeymoon was necessarily short and Barney 
was soon ordered, as lieutenant, to the Conti- 
nental ship Saratoga, 14, Captain John Young. 
In two days after leaving port the Saratoga 
captured a fine ship and two brigs, with valuable 
cargoes and carrying, jointly, sixty-two guns, 
with upwards of two hundred men. 1 The next 
day Barney's prize, the Charming Molly, was 
captured by H. B. M. ship Intrepid, 74 guns. 
The Saratoga escaped, but was never after heard 
from; it is supposed that she foundered at sea. 

The tide of fortune seemed to have ebbed for 
a time for Barney, for Captain Malloy, of the 
Intrepid, treated him with the utmost cruelty 
during the whole passage to New York, keep- 
ing him on the poop, exposed to the weather 
and the severities of a cold snowstorm without 
warm clothing or bedding. In December, 1789, 
he, with seventy other officers, was put on board 
the Yarmouth, 74, by order of Admiral Rodney, 
and sent to England. For fifty-three days these 
officers were confined in the hold of the ship, 
thirty feet below the upper deck, in a close apart- 
ment without air, and supplied with insufficient 
food and with water of the worst quality. In 

1 The contest with the ship, the Charming Molly, was 
conducted with spirit and promptitude. Running along- 
side, Captain Young delivered his fire and threw fifty 
men on the enemy's deck, when a fierce but short struggle 
ensued that ended in the capture of the ship. Lieutenant 
Barney led the boarders, and the crew that he overcame 
is said to have been double that of his own party. 



Commodore Joshua Barney 33 

this wretched confinement, unfit for the vilest 
criminals, these gentlemen were kept on the 
passage from New York to Plymouth. 

As a result of this barbarous treatment a pes- 
tilence broke out among the prisoners and eleven 
of them died before the ship reached port. On 
their arrival in Plymouth the survivors, pale, 
emaciated, and feeble, were ordered on deck, but 
none of them was able to stand erect, many 
of them could not stand at all, while the effect 
of the sudden light of day — from which they 
had been excluded for nearly two months — upon 
the weak and dilated pupils of their eyes is de- 
scribed by Barney, in his journal, as being 
" insufferably severe." 

The wretched prisoners were at once removed 
to a prison ship and were later sent as " rebels " 
to the Mill Prison, where they found between 
two and three hundred of their unfortunate 
countrymen already incarcerated. 

The record of Barney's sensational escape 
from this formidable stronghold in the dis- 
guise of a British officer; his wanderings 
through the surrounding country; his escape 
from the inhospitable shores of Britain in a 
lugger bound across the Channel to France; the 
capture of the little vessel by an English pri- 
vateer and the enforced return of Barney to 
England; his escape from the privateer and his 
renewed wandering in disguise, until friends 
were at last found who concealed the escaped 



34 The American Navy 

prisoner in their bouse, until a little fishing 
vessel was purchased in which he was safely 
carried to the friendly shores of France, — all 
these are related at length in Barney's journal. 
This truly romantic story, the details of which 
were amply verified by the official investigation 
made by Admiral Dfgby, is but another verifi- 
cation of the saying that truth is stranger than 
fiction. 

Barney remained on the Continent until 
November, 1781, waiting for a favorable oppor- 
tunity to return home, and it was not until 
December that he reached his native shores, 
having been absent eighteen months without re- 
ceiving a word from his family, which he now 
found increased by the presence of a fine little 
boy, his first-born child. 

Five days after his arrival at Philadephia the 
State of Pennsylvania honored Lieutenant Bar- 
ney with the command of their ship the Hyder 
Ally, of sixteen guns and one hundred and ten 
men. He at once entered with ardor upon his 
new duties and, thirteen days later, sailed with 
a convoy of merchant vessels. In the lower bay 
two ships and a brig were discovered standing 
for them. Signalling his convoy to return to 
the river, Barney kept astern of the ships, cov- 
ering them from the enemy. One of the two 
British ships came within pistol-shot, delivering 
a broadside as she approached. The Hyder 
Ally at once opened her ports and as the enemy 



Commodore Joshua Barney 35 

ranged up for boarding, Barney called out in 
a loud voice to the man at the wheel, " Hard a 
port " — meanwhile sending a messenger with an 
order to have the wheel put hard a starboard. 
By this manoeuvre the enemy's jibboom caught 
in the fore rigging of the Hyder Ally, giving 
her a raking position, and in twenty-six minutes 
twenty broadsides of grape, canister, and round 
shot were poured into the helpless ship. 

Her flag came down in less than thirty min- 
utes, but the frigate, a little way astern and 
rapidly coming up, remained to be dealt with. 
Sending his first lieutenant and thirty-five men 
on board the prize, with orders to make all sail 
and push up the bay, Barney covered her retreat 
with the Hyder Ally until, finding herself out- 
sailed, the frigate abandoned the chase and an- 
chored. It was then, only, that Barney learned 
from his lieutenant in charge the gratifying 
news that their prize was H. B. M. ship General 
Monk, Captain Rogers, R. N., with twenty guns 
and one hundred and thirty-six men — nearly 
double his own weight of metal and with a fight- 
ing force greater by a fourth than his own. 
The British loss in this engagement was twenty 
killed and thirty-three wounded. Among the 
former were the first lieutenant, purser, sur- 
geon, boatswain, and gunner; among the latter, 
the commander and every officer on board ex- 
cept one midshipman. The Hyder Ally had but 
four killed and eleven wounded. 



36 The American Navy 

The capture of this fine ship in the presence 
of the British frigate Quebec was one of the 
most brilliant achievements of the war, and in 
recognition of it the Legislature of Pennsylvania 
presented Captain Barney with an engrossed 
vote of thanks and a gold-mounted sword. The 
United States purchased the General Monk, re- 
named her the General Washington, and took 
her into the service, giving the command of her 
to Captain Barney. On the 18th of May Barney 
was ready for sea and sailed in the Washington 
with a large convoy, bearing despatches for 
Franklin at the French Court. He returned, 
bringing $600,000 in gold for the Government, 
and also the welcome news that the prelimi- 
naries of peace had been signed. 

After the termination of the war Barney re- 
turned to France and entered the service of the 
French Government, receiving the commission of 
Chef de Division in her navy. In the War of 
1812, Barney was commissioned Captain in the 
United States Navy and was appointed to the 
command of the flotilla organized for the de- 
fence of Chesapeake Bay. He was very active in 
this service and was severely wounded at the 
Battle of Bladensburg. For his gallantry on 
that occasion he received a sword of honor from 
the city of Washington. 

Captain Barney died in Pittsburg, Pa., in 
1818 at the age of fifty-nine. His widow sur- 
vived him and in 1832 wrote an interesting 



Commodore Joshua Barney 37 

biographical memoir of her distinguished hus- 
band. The son, born during Captain Barney's 
captivity in England, was a member of Congress 
from Baltimore, 1825-1829, and died in Wash- 
ington, D. C, in January, 1856, aged seventy- 
two years. 



CHAPTER III 

THE " LUCKY LITTLE * ENTERPRISE ' " 

IT is very doubtful if the naval history of auy 
nation can show a more brilliant record, for 
a vessel of her size, than was made during the 
first fifteen years of the past century by the 
little twelve-gun schooner Enterprise, afterward 
rigged as a brig. 

During her very active service in the West 
Indies, in the war between the United States 
and France in 1798-99, as well as later in the 
Mediterranean, where she took part in our con- 
flict with the Beys of Tunis and Tripoli, the 
Enterprise invariably gave a good account of 
herself, as might have been expected when we 
note the men, afterward famous in our naval 
history, who as lieutenants commanded her. 

Among these were sturdy Isaac Hull, ten 
years later the gallant commander of the Con- 
stitution, and Stephen Decatur, whose heroic ex- 
ploit in the destruction of the Philadelphia in 
the Bay of Tripoli was but the prelude to a 
long and brilliant career, that culminated in 
1815 in the absolute humiliation of the Barbary 
Powers by the squadron under his command. 
Other captains of the little Enterprise were 

38 



The "Lucky Little 'Enterprise'" 39 

Charles Stewart, who, when in command of the 
Constitution, captured the Cyane and Levant; 
and James Renshaw, who for nineteen months 
was a captive at Tripoli. David Porter of 
Essex fame, father of the late Admiral of our 
Navy, served as a junior lieutenant in the En- 
terprise in the operations against Tripoli, and 
among her officers at that time were midship- 
men James Lawrence, " the Bayard of the Sea," 
who gave up his life on the deck of the ill-fated 
Chesapeake; Joseph Bainbridge, and Thomas 
Macdonough, who gained the glorious victory 
over the British fleet on Lake Champlain. 

Early in 1799 the Enterprise was built and 
equipped at Baltimore, Maryland. She was 
about one hundred and sixty-five tons, and her 
armament was twelve six-pounders, with a com- 
plement of about seventy men. On April 1, 
1800, the Enterprise, commanded by Lieutenant 
John Shaw, had a smart brush with a brig, 
showing Spanish colors, near the Mona Passage. 
The stranger had eighteen guns of heavier 
calibre than the American, and the action lasted 
for twenty minutes, the brig continuing to fly 
the Spanish flag. At last both vessels with- 
drew, each convinced that a mistake in nation- 
ality had been made. 

Lieutenant Shaw, finding it necessary after 
this contest to make some repairs, went into 
St. Thomas. While there he was challenged to 
fight a French lugger of twelve guns outside 



4o The American Navy 

the harbor, but the Frenchman failing to keep 
the appointment, Shaw sailed for St. Kitts, cap- 
turing a small privateer on the way, and a few 
days later he captured the letter-of-marque 
Seine. This was quite a desperate fight, the 
Frenchman having twenty-four killed and 
wounded, while the Enterprise had several 
wounded but none killed. Two weeks later the 
Enterprise captured the six-gun privateer Citoy- 
enne and sent her into St. Kitts. The French 
loss in this engagement was fourteen killed and 
wounded, while the Americans had but eight 
wounded. 

Keturning to St. Kitts, the Enterprise re- 
fitted, and, upon going to sea, fell in with the 
same lugger that had challenged her a month 
before at St. Thomas, and actually captured her 
without firing a shot, very much to the surprise 
and gratification of Lieutenant Shaw, who had 
anticipated a severe fight. Shortly after this, 
while near Guadaloupe, the French privateer brig 
L 'Agile was encountered and, after a brief con- 
test, was carried by boarding, the French losing 
twelve killed and wounded, while the Enterprise 
had only three wounded. 

In July the Enterprise, while becalmed, was 
approached one night by a French privateer 
brig. Evidently thinking the American was a 
merchant vessel, the brig had her sweeps out 
and was coming down upon her expected prey. 
A breeze sprang up, however, and the Enter- 



The "Lucky Little 'Enterprise'" 4 1 

prise, getting the wind first, trimmed and made 
all sail and started in chase of her adversary. 
The Frenchman, finding to his surprise that he 
had caught a Tartar, attempted to make off 
before the wind under studding-sails. But the 
Yankee schooner had the heels of the privateer, 
and keeping in her wake, and within musket- 
shot, Lieutenant Shaw made it very unpleasant 
for the Frenchman by a well-directed fire of 
small-arms. At last the Enterprise drew abeam 
of the brig, and the two vessels then engaged 
at close quarters. During the fight the French- 
man's foretopmast was carried away, taking 
with the wreck several men who were aloft en- 
deavoring to secure the spar, and although the 
brig made no effort to save her drowning men, 
Captain Shaw humanely lowered a boat and 
picked them up. Then, running alongside the 
French vessel, and pouring in a rapid fire, Shaw 
soon forced her to surrender. The prize proved 
to be the Flambeau, mounting twelve nine- 
pounders, with a crew of one hundred and ten, 
while the Enterprise only had twelve six- 
pounders and eighty-three men. The French 
loss was forty killed and wounded, while the 
Americans, with their usual good fortune, lost 
only ten men. 

A month later the Enterprise chased for five 
hours, and finally captured, the French priva- 
teer Pauline of six guns and forty men; and in 
September she took the letter-of-marque Qua- 



42 The American Navy 

daloupenne of seven guns and forty-five men. 
This made a grand total for six months for the 
Enterprise of eight privateers, with an aggre- 
gate of forty-seven guns and three hundred and 
eighty-four men, captured, and four American 
merchantmen recaptured. 

Returning to the United States, Lieutenant 
Charles Stewart was ordered to the command 
of the Enterprise. In May, 1801, the Enter- 
prise, then commanded by Lieutenant Andrew 
Sterett, sailed for the Mediterranean in the 
American squadron under the command of Cap- 
tain Richard Dale, who was ordered to make a 
demonstration in force against the Bashaw of 
Tripoli and the Bey of Tunis, in view of the 
probability of a declaration of war by Tripoli, 
which, as it proved, had actually at that time 
been made, although the news of it had not been 
received at Washington. The immediate cause of 
this war was the dissatisfaction of the Bashaw 
of Tripoli and the Bey of Tunis with the amount 
of tribute they were receiving from the United 
States, which they considered insufficient as an 
indemnity for refraining from the capture of 
American vessels. 

Upon the arrival of the American squadron 
at Gibraltar, the frigate President and the En- 
terprise were sent to Algiers, and subsequently 
the Enterprise was ordered to Malta. While 
cruising off that island on August 1, 1801, she 
fell in with the Tripolitun war polacre Tripoli, 



The "Lucky Little ' Enterprise '" 43 

of fourteen guns and eighty-five men, and an 
action was at once begun, which lasted three 
hours. During this desperate fight, the Tri- 
politan three times surrendered, but when the 
Enterprise sent a boat to take possession, the 
enemy twice reopened fire and rehoisted their 
colors. Exasperated by this treachery, Lieu- 
tenant Sterett determined to sink the polacre, 
and opened fire, but the Tripolitan commander 
at last threw his flag into the sea, begging for 
quarter. Lieutenant David Porter was again 
sent to secure the prize, which this time he ac- 
complished. The Tripolitan loss was fifty killed 
and wounded, while, strange as it may seem, 
the Americans had no loss whatever. Sterett 
dismantled the polacre, throwing all her guns 
overboard, and ordered her to make for the 
nearest port. For this gallant affair Lieutenant 
Sterett was promoted, and Congress voted him 
a sword, while each member of the crew received 
a month's extra pay. 

The Tripolitan commander did not fare as 
well, for upon the arrival of the polacre at 
Tripoli the Bashaw ordered her wounded cap- 
tain to be mounted on a jackass and paraded 
through the streets, and afterward to receive 
five hundred bastinadoes. So terrified were the 
Tripolitans at this event that the sailors aban- 
doned their cruisers fitting out, and only with 
the greatest difficulty could men be procured to 
navigate them. 



44 The American Navy 

Under orders from Washington, the President 
and the Enterprise returned to the United States 
in December, to avoid wintering in the Medi- 
terranean. In May, 1802, the Enterprise again 
sailed for those waters, accompanying a squad- 
ron commanded by Commodore Victor L. Morris, 
which included the frigates Chesapeake, Constel- 
lation, and New York, and the corvettes Adams 
and John Adams. The frigates Philadelphia 
and Essex had remained on the station. 

During this cruise the Enterprise, while 
commanded by the gallant Isaac Hull, then 
a lieutenant, actually cornered a Tripolitan 
twenty-two-gun cruiser one night, driving her to 
seek refuge in a narrow bay, and holding her 
there until daylight, when the frigate John 
Adams coming down to the assistance of the 
plucky little schooner, the two American vessels 
stood in shore, opened fire, and soon afterward 
the cruiser blew up with all on board. 

On December 23, 1803, the Enterprise, com- 
manded by Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, cap- 
tured a Tripolitan ketch, the Mastico, bound 
for Constantinople with female slaves for the 
Sultan's harem. Decatur had already proposed 
to Preble to run into the harbor of Tripoli at 
night with the Enterprise and destroy the 
Philadelphia that had been taken possession of 
by the Tripolitans on November 1st, after she 
had grounded near the entrance to the port, but 
the commodore would not sanction the plan. 




ISAAC HULL 

From the painting by Gilbert Stuart 



The " Lucky Little ' Enterprise ' " 45 

He decided, however, to send in the Mastico 
on this venture, and the officers and crew of 
the Enterprise, having captured the ketch, 
claimed the honor of taking her in for this 
perilous expedition. Every man and boy on 
board volunteered for the occasion, but as the 
crews of other ships also demanded recognition, 
six officers from the Enterprise and six from 
the Constitution were selected. Sixty-two men 
were also chosen from the crews of the two 
vessels, and these, with an Italian pilot, manned 
the Mastico. 

Entering the harbor of Tripoli on the evening 
of February 15, 1804, the Mastico was permitted 
to drift quietly close alongside of the Philadel- 
phia without exciting suspicion, and then, led by 
the gallant Decatur, and followed by his brave 
officers and men, the frigate was boarded, the 
crew of four hundred Tripolitans were driven 
in panic overboard, and the ship was fired. The 
daring Americans then escaped from the har- 
bor, followed by the Tripolitan gunboats, and 
safely passing through a hail of shot and shell 
from batteries mounting one hundred and fif- 
teen heavy guns, reached their ships with but 
one man wounded. 

The Philadelphia burned furiously, until at 
last the magazines ignited and a terrific explo- 
sion rent the ship into fragments and her de- 
struction was complete. Nelson, who was then 
blockading Toulon, declared this " the most bold 



46 The American Navy 

and daring act of the age," and Congress 
manifested its high appreciation of Decatur's 
bravery by promoting Lieutenant Decatur two 
grades, to Captain, and voting him a sword of 
honor. 

After this successful raid, the Mastico, under 
Decatur, was taken into the service and very 
appropriately called the Intrepid, but her career 
under our flag was to be brief. A month later 
Preble decided to send her into the harbor as 
a floating mine, for the purpose of destroying 
the Tripolitan gunboats. In charge of Master- 
Commandant Richard Somers, the Intrepid was 
filled with powder, explosive shells, and com- 
bustibles, and with three officers, Somers, Mid- 
shipman Henry Wadsworth (an uncle of the 
poet Longfellow), and Joseph Israel, with a crew 
of ten men, she ran in on the night of September 
4, 1804, with a fine leading breeze. Unfortu- 
nately the ketch grounded on the rocks at the 
entrance to the harbor, where she was im- 
mediately attacked by three Tripolitan gunboats, 
and in pursuance of his avowed intention not 
to be taken alive, it is believed that Somers 
fired the magazine of his vessel, blowing her 
up in the midst of his enemies. 

Although this attempt to destroy the Tripoli- 
tan gunboats failed, Captain Preble vigorously 
continued his bombardment of the fortifications, 
and on August 3d sent in the six gunboats with 
the Enterprise, covered by the fire of the Con- 



The " Lucky Little 'Enterprise'" 47 

stitution, to destroy the Bashaw's gunboats and 
galleys in the harbor. 

The terrace of the Bashaw's palace was 
crowded with spectators to behold the chastise- 
ment the Bashaw's gunboats would give the 
Americans if they approached too near. But 
soon the shells from our flotilla began to fall in 
the town, and the inhabitants fled to the suburbs, 
while the Bashaw retreated to his bomb-proof 
room. 

This proved to be one of the most stubborn 
fights of the war, a hand-to-hand combat that 
in its various exhibitions of desperate personal 
courage recalls the feats of the paladins of old. 
Stephen Decatur, who led the second of the two 
divisions, with three gunboats, kept to wind- 
ward and closed with one of the eastern divi- 
sions of nine Tripolitan gunboats, boarding one 
of them with only fifteen men. The captain of 
this vessel, a large, powerful man, was singled 
out by Decatur, who charged him with a board- 
ing pike, but the Turk seized the weapon, 
wrested it from his assailant's hands, and turned 
the pike against its owner. Decatur drew his 
sword, parried the thrust, and made a blow at 
the pike, with a view of cutting off its head, 
but his sword hit the iron and broke at the 
hilt, leaving Decatur helpless. As the Turk 
made another thrust with the pike, the gallant 
American partially averted it with his arm, but 
received the point in the flesh of one breast. 



48 The American Navy 

Pushing the iron from the wound, Decatur 
sprang within the weapon and grappled his an- 
tagonist, the pike falling between them. The 
Turk's muscular strength, however, overcame 
the American and he fell across the gunnel of 
the boat. In this position Decatur managed to 
draw a small pistol from the pocket of his waist- 
coat, passed the arm that was free around the 
body of the Turk, pointed the muzzle in and 
fired. The ball passed entirely through the 
body of the Mussulman and lodged in Decatur's 
clothing. At the same instant he felt the grasp 
of his foe relax and he was liberated. 

During this melee a sergeant of marines in- 
terposed between his commander and another 
Turk, who was about to cleave Lieutenant De- 
catur's skull, receiving the sabre stroke on his 
own arm, which was nearly severed by the blow. 
By this time the other thirteen Americans had 
overcome the thirty-one Tripolitans, and hauled 
down the colors of the gunboat. 

Decatur left her in charge of Lieutenant 
McDonough and eight men, and laid another 
Tripolitan gunboat on board, carrying her, also, 
after a desperate engagement of a few minutes. 
These two captured boats had thirty-three men 
killed and twenty-seven were made prisoners, 
nineteen of them wounded. 

Lieutenant Trippe had an equally exciting ex- 
perience. He boarded a Tripolitan boat with 
only Midshipman Jonathan Henley and nine 



The "Lucky Little 'Enterprise'" 49 

men, his boat falling off from alongside before 
any more could join him. He was thus left to 
conquer thirty-six men with only eleven. For 
a time the victory seemed doubtful. Trippe re- 
ceived eleven sabre wounds, some of them dan- 
gerous. The blade of his sword bending, he, like 
Decatur, also closed with his antagonist and 
both fell. In the struggle Trippe wrested the 
Turk's sword from him, and with it stabbed his ( 
antagonist to the heart. After fourteen of the 
Tripolitans had been killed, the surviving 
twenty-two surrendered to the eleven Ameri- 
cans, and the gallant Trippe brought his 
captured gunboat off in triumph. 

Lieutenant Somers, not able to fetch far 
enough to windward to co-operate with Decatur, 
fell upon the leeward division of the enemy, and 
with his single boat, attacked five full-manned 
Tripolitan boats within pistol-shot. After a des- 
perate fight he defeated and drove them, in a 
shattered condition and with the loss of many 
men, to seek refuge under the cover of the rocks. 

Lieutenant James Decatur (brother to 
Stephen) engaged one of the larger Tripolitan 
gunboats. After losing a greater part of her 
men she surrendered, but as James Decatur 
stepped on board of his prize, the Turkish cap- 
tain treacherously shot him through the head,, 
and she escaped while the Americans were re- 
covering the body of their unfortunate com- 
mander. 



50 The American Navy 

The result of this fight was the capture of 
three gunboats, and the destruction of three 
others. The Americans also brought off one hun- 
dred and three prisoners, beside leaving many 
killed and wounded, while our loss was only 
fourteen killed and wounded. 

The attacks upon the fortifications at Tri- 
poli were continued by Preble, but the resist- 
ance of the enemy was very stubborn. As 
winter was coming on, the Enterprise and sev- 
eral of the smaller vessels of the fleet were sent 
to Syracuse, while Captain Preble returned to 
the United States in the John Adams, being re- 
lieved in command of the station by Captain 
Samuel Barron, who came in the frigate Presi- 
dent in September, 1804. 

The results of Captain Preble's operations 
before Tripoli, up to this time, had been highly 
satisfactory, and very great damage had been 
inflicted upon the enemy. The Pope made a 
public declaration at this time that " the United 
States, though in their infancy, had in this af- 
fair done more to humble the Antichristian bar- 
barians on that coast, than all the European 
states had accomplished for a long series of 
years." 

In the spring of 1805, the American fleet hav- 
ing meanwhile been greatly increased, active 
operations were again begun, with such success 
that by June 3d a treaty of peace was signed 
by which the Bashaw relinquished all claim to 



The "Lucky Little 'Enterprise' 51 

further tribute and exchanged the American 
prisoners from the Philadelphia for the Tuni- 
sian prisoners held by our forces, and the long 
war honorably ended. The American fleet then 
returned home, and the Enterprise was laid up 
in ordinary. Congress voted a gold medal to 
Commodore Preble, and swords to the officers 
of his squadron. 

In June, 1812, war was declared with Great 
Britain. An effort was at once made to re- 
habilitate our Navy, and the Enterprise, trans- 
formed from a schooner into a brig, was armed 
with fourteen eighteen-pounder cannonades, and 
two long nine-pounders, with a crew of one hun- 
dred men. Master-Commandant Thomas Blakely 
was put in command, with orders to look out 
for English privateers on the coast of Maine, 
as twelve years before the Enterprise had been 
sent to the West Indies after French free- 
booters. 

With her usual good luck the little vessel was 
not long in finding a quarry, and in August, 
1813, she captured the privateer Fly. Soon 
after, Lieutenant William Burrows, a very gal- 
lant young officer who had served with Preble 
in the Constitution during the Tripolitan war, 
was ordered to command the Enterprise, and on 
September 1st he sailed from Portsmouth, New 
Hampshire, in quest of several privateers that 
had been reported in the vicinity of Monhegan, 
Maine. 



52 The American Navy 

On September 4th, while near Peinaquid 
Point, Maine, Burrows sighted a brig at anchor 
in a small inlet, which he recognized as a vessel 
of war, and which proved to be H. B. M. Boxer. 
He at once cleared ship for action, and hoisted 
the Stars and Stripes at the peak and at 
each masthead. The British brig leisurely got 
under way, fired several guns, and stood out 
seaward, with her colors also flying from each 
masthead. 

While the two vessels were standing out, the 
Enterprise leading, Lieutenant Burrows directed 
that one of the long nines should be brought 
aft and run out of a stern port in the poop 
cabin. As it was found that some of the fix- 
tures interfered with the attainment of a proper 
elevation on the gun, the captain called the 
carpenter with his broad-axe to cut away the 
woodwork. This attracted the attention of 
the crew, many of whom had been in the Enter- 
prise for some time, and they got the idea that 
Burrows was arranging to run from the Eng- 
lishman and use the stern chaser in defence. 
It was not until the first lieutenant relieved 
their minds on this point by the promise of a 
speedy fight with the enemy, that entire harmony 
was restored. 

At 3 p.m., Burrows, having completed his 
preparations, shortened sail, tacked, and edged 
away toward the Boxer, the two vessels ap- 
proaching on different tacks. At 3.20 they both 



The " Lucky Little 'Enterprise' " 53 

kept away, and as they ranged alongside, the 
Enterprise opened with her starboard and the 
Boxer with her port guns. The Enterprise drew 
ahead, keeping up her fire, and as she passed 
the Boxer's bow the helm was put astarboard 
and she sheered across the Englishman's fore- 
foot, delivering the fire of the long nine, which 
had been run out of the cabin window, twice 
at half pistol-shot distance, with telling effect. 
The Boxer then kept away and drew up on the 
quarter of the Enterprise, both vessels exchang- 
ing broadsides, but the American brig, keeping 
ahead of her antagonist, again sheered across 
the Boxer's fore-foot, and again raked her with 
the long nine. At this time the Englishman's 
maintopmast came down, bringing with it the 
topsail yard, and the Enterprise holding her 
position continued the raking fire. Very early 
in the action Lieutenant Burrows had been 
mortally wounded by a musket-ball, but the 
brave fellow had refused to be taken below, and 
throughout the action he was stretched on deck 
with a hammock beneath his head. As he fell 
he cried to his first lieutenant, " Never strike 
that flag ! " Lieutenant Edward McCall, who 
assumed command, had never before been in 
action, but he proved fully equal to the occa- 
sion and fought and manoeuvred the vessel with 
great skill. At 4 p.m., the fire of the enemy 
ceased and a voice was heard hailing, " We have 
surrendered." 



54 The American Navy 

" Why don't you haul down your colors? " 
returned McCall through his trumpet. 

" We can't, sir ; they are nailed to the mast," 
was the reply. 

A boat was lowered, and McCall, boarding 
the Boxer, found that her commander, Captain 
Samuel Blyth, had been killed at the first broad- 
side from the Enterprise, and that, in all, the 
English had twenty-eight killed and fourteen 
wounded, while the Enterprise had but one 
killed and thirteen wounded, three of whom, 
however, died the next day. 

Captain Blyth, who was a very gallant officer, 
equally noted for his gentleness and humanity, 
had been one of the pall-bearers a few weeks 
before in Halifax at the funeral of Captain Law- 
rence of the Chesapeake. Stimulated by the 
good fortune of Captain Broke of the Shannon, 
Blyth had sailed in the Boxer in search of the 
Enterprise, expressing his determination to 
" lead another Yankee into Halifax harbor." 

When Lieutenant McCall returned to the 
Enterprise, he at once brought Blyth's sword 
to Burrows, who was still stretched out on deck 
where he had fallen. As the young commander 
grasped the sword in both his hands and pressed 
it to his breast he murmured, " I am satisfied." 
Soon after his body was laid out in his own 
cabin, covered with the flag for which he had 
given up his life, " a smile on his lips," as one 
of his officers wrote to his wife. 




COMMODORE WILLIAM BAINBRIDQE, U.S.N. 
From the painting by Gilbert Stuart 



The " Lucky Little 'Enterprise' " 55 

An extract from a letter from Commodore 
Hull to Commodore Bainbridge, dated Sep- 
tember 10, 1813, is of special interest, as it gives 
the testimony of an intelligent personal witness. 
Hull says: 

I yesterday visited the two brigs, and was as- 
tonished to see the difference of injury received in 
the action. The Enterprise has but one eighteen- 
pound shot in her hull, one in her mainmast, and 
one in her foremast ; her sails are much cut by 
grape-shot, but no injury was done. 

The Boxer has eighteen or twenty eighteen-pound 
shot in her hull, most of them at the water's edge; 
several stands of grape-shot in her side, and such 
a quantity of smaller grape that I did n't under- 
take to count them. Her masts, sails, and spars 
are literally cut to pieces; several of her guns are 
dismounted and unfit for service. To give an idea, 
I inform you that I counted in her mainmast alone 
three eighteen-pound shot holes. 

I find it impossible to get at the number killed, 
as no papers are found by which we can ascertain 
it. I, however, counted upwards of ninety ham- 
mocks that were in her nettings, besides several 
beds without hammocks. I have no doubt that she 
carried one hundred men on board. 

The exact number on board the Enterprise 
was one hundred and two. 

On September 7th, after the arrival of the 
Enterprise at Portland with her prize, the bodies 
of the two commanders were brought on shore 



56 The American Navy 

in ten-oared barges, rowed at minute strokes by 
masters of ships, and accompanied by a proces- 
sion of almost all the barges and boats in the 
harbor. Minute guns were fired from the ves- 
sels, the same military ceremony was performed 
over each body, and the cortege moved through 
the streets, preceded by the selectmen and muni- 
cipal officers, and guarded by the officers and 
crew of the Enterprise and Boxer. Captains 
Burrows and Blyth were buried side by side in 
the Portland cemetery, where their tombs may 
still be seen. 

THE " ALLIANCE " CAPTURES THE " ATLANTA " 
AND THE " TREPASSY " 

In February, 1781, Captain John Barry sailed 
from Boston for France in the Alliance, 32, with 
Colonel Laurens on board, charged with an im- 
portant mission to the French Court. On the 
passage over she took a British privateer and, 
after landing her passengers, in company with 
the Marquis de la Fayette, captured the priva- 
teers Mars, twenty-six guns, and Minerva, ten 
guns. After parting with her consort, the Alli- 
ance continued her cruise and on the 28th of 
May two sails were made out standing directly 
for her. 

It was late in the day, and the strangers, when 
near enough to remain in sight during the dark- 
ness, hauled up on the same course as the Alii- 



The " Lucky Little 'Enterprise'" 57 

ance, evidently with a view to defer the action 
till morning. At daylight the next day, it was 
nearly a dead calm, and when the mist cleared 
away, the strangers were seen at no great dis- 
tance with English colors flying. They were a 
sloop-of-war of sixteen guns and a brig of four- 
teen guns. The sea was perfectly smooth, and 
there being no wind, the two light cruisers were 
enabled to sweep up, and to select their posi- 
tions, while the Alliance lay almost a log on 
the water, without steerage-way. Owing to 
these circumstances it was noon before the ves- 
sels were near enough to hail, when the action 
at once began. 

For more than an hour the Alliance fought 
to great disadvantage, the enemy having taken 
position on her quarters, where only a few of 
the aftermost guns would bear on them. The ad- 
vantage possessed by the English vessels in con- 
sequence of the calm, at one time indeed gave 
the enemy the greatest hopes of success, for they 
had the fight mainly to themselves. While mat- 
ters were in this state, Captain Barry received 
a grape-shot in the shoulder and was carried 
below. This added to the disheartening condi- 
tion of the Americans and the enemy seemed 
entirely confident of success. 

Just at this time the ensign of the Alliance 
was shot away, whereupon the British left their 
guns and gave three cheers for victory; but at 
the same moment a light breeze struck the 



58 The American Navy 

Alliance, she came under steerage-way, and a 
thundering broadside from her starboard battery 
sent the enemy again to their guns. Thus the 
entire condition of things was changed, and after 
a manly resistance both the English ships were 
compelled to haul down their colors. The prizes 
proved to be the Atlanta, 16, Captain Edwards, 
with one hundred and thirty men, and the Tre- 
pussy, 11, Captain Smith, with eighty men. 
Both vessels were much cut up and had con- 
jointly sustained a loss of forty-one men killed 
and wounded. The Alliance lost eleven killed 
and twenty-one wounded. Captain Barry made 
a cartel of the Trepassy and sent her into an 
English port with the prisoners, but the At- 
lanta was unfortunately retaken by the enemy's 
squadron off Boston harbor. 

THE " CONSTELLATION " AND " INSURGENTE " 

In the early part of the year 1799 the frigate 
Constellution, Commodore Thomas Truxton, 
mounting forty-eight guns, was cruising in the 
West Indies. About noon of February 9th, the 
island of Nevis being fifteen miles distant, 
the Constellution sighted a ship to the south- 
ward, which proved to be the French frigate 
Insurgente, 36, Captain Barreant. Hoisting his 
colors, Commodore Truxton bore down and the 
French commander, after first setting American 
colors, showed the French ensign, and fired a 



The "Lucky Little 'Enterprise' " 59 

gun to windward, by way of challenge, keeping 
meanwhile under easy sail. 

At 1.15 p.m. the French ship hailed, and, as 
the Constellation ranged alongside, both ships 
opened fire, and a very spirited action imme- 
diately ensued. The French fired high, evi- 
dently intending to cut up the Constellation 
aloft, and her sails and rigging consequently 
suffered severely. The foretop-mast was badly 
damaged near the lower cap, and young Mid- 
shipman David Porter, who was stationed in the 
foretop, finding that he could not make himself 
heard on deck, cut the stoppers and lowered the 
yard, thus preventing the fall of the top-mast. 

Meanwhile the Constellation's fire was telling, 
and she soon forged ahead of the French ship, 
and, crossing her bow, poured in a terrific raking 
fire. Then taking position on her starboard 
bow, Truxton held his place fully an hour, re- 
ceiving and pouring in broadsides, when he drew 
out of the thick smoke of battle, wore round 
and, hauling across the stern of the French 
frigate, was just about to rake her again with 
his whole broadside, when at 3.30 p.m. she struck 
her colors. 

Lieutenant Rodgers and Midshipman David 
Porter, with eleven men, were at once sent on 
board the prize to take possession and super- 
intend the removal of the prisoners. After re- 
moving the dead, caring for the wounded, aud 
transferring about half the prisoners, it came 



60 The American Navy 

on to blow heavily, darkness set in, and the 
ships became separated. Lieutenant Rodgers 
now found himself in a very precarious posi- 
tion, in charge of a disabled ship and one hun- 
dred and seventy-three able-bodied prisoners, 
who were already showing a disposition to rise 
on their thirteen captors. 

The gratings for the hatchways had been 
thrown overboard, and Mr. Rodgers could find 
no handcuffs, but, being a man of great personal 
strength and indomitable resolution, he suc- 
ceeded in first securing the firearms from the 
arm chest, and afterward in driving the French- 
men down into the lower hold. He then sta- 
tioned a sentinel at each hatchway with positive 
orders to shoot any man who should attempt 
to appear on deck. 

The gale lasted three days and nights and 
during all that time Rodgers and young Porter, 
with their eleven men, not only stood guard over 
their prisoners, but handled the sails of their 
frigate, and when the weather moderated brought 
her safely into St. Kitts, where Commodore Trux- 
ton was anxiously awaiting news of his prize. 

The American loss in this spirited engagement 
was only one killed and three wounded, while 
the Insurgente had twenty-nine killed and forty- 
one wounded. The Insurgente was refitted, 
taken into our service, and, under Captain 
Alexander Patrick Fletcher, sailed on a cruise 
in July, 1800, and was never afterward heard of. 



CHAPTER IV 

JOHN PAUL JONES 

IN dealing with the romantic features in the 
history of the American navy the very re- 
markable record of Captain John Paul Jones, 
that reads, throughout, more like romance than 
veritable history, demands a special chapter. 
Born July 6, 1747, at Arbigland, on the north 
shore of Solway Frith, in Scotland, the fifth 
child of John Paul, gardener to the Honorable 
Robert Craik, the lad, after receiving a limited 
education at the parish school of Kirkbean, 
made his first voyage to sea, before he was 
thirteen, in the brig Friendship, bound for 
the Rappahannock River. John's elder brother, 
William, had married and settled in Virginia 
several years earlier as manager of the estate 
of his adopted father, William Jones. As John 
passed some time with his brother William, on 
this voyage, while the brig was loading with 
tobacco, his prepossessions in favor of America 
and his sympathy with colonial sentiment were 
naturally fostered by his associations. 

After several more voyages, in which John 
Paul was rapidly advanced, first to second and 

61 



62 The American Navy 

then to chief mate, his vessel, the King George 
Packet, was put into the slave trade, on the 
west coast of Africa. At the end of the second 
voyage, however, the young man declined to 
make a second adventure. On settling up his 
accounts he received $5000.00 as his share of 
the profits of the voyage. Returning to Eng- 
land, he soon obtained the command of the ship 
John. In 1769 Jones again visited the Rappa- 
hannock and found that his brother William had, 
upon the death of his benefactor, William Jones, 
come into possession of the Jones estate, which, 
by the terms of the will of the deceased, was 
to fall to John Paul, as residuary legatee, at the 
death of William, provided that the young man 
then assumed the name of John Paul Jones. 

For several years John continued in command 
of his ship, an indefatigable student, meanwhile, 
not only of the science of navigation and of 
maritime matters generally, but also of the 
French and Spanish languages, in which he be- 
came so proficient that in after years he readily 
made himself a master of French literature dur- 
ing his residence on the continent. His brother 
died of lung fever in 1773 and John Paul Jones, 
by which name he was thereafter known, at the 
age of twenty-eight abandoned the sea and took 
up, for a brief period, the life of a colonial 
planter, on an estate of three thousand acres 
with thirty negroes. 

The clouds of war, however, were already be- 





COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES, U.S.N. 
From the portrait by G. W. Peale 



John Paul Jones 63 

ginning to gather about the colonies and at a 
public ball in Norfolk, early in 1774, Jones had 
an affray with a young British naval officer 
who, in the heat of discussion, declared that, 
in case of a revolt in the colonies the in- 
surrection would be easily suppressed, if the 
courage of the colonial men was on a par 
with the virtue of the colonial women. Jones 
at once knocked the officer down, and, after his 
friends had removed him to his ship, awaited 
a demand for satisfaction, meanwhile selecting 
his second and preparing his duelling pistols. 
To his surprise, however, the ship sailed for 
Charleston and nothing further was heard of 
Mr. Parker, the English lieutenant, who was a 
relative of Admiral Sir Peter Parker. During 
that winter Paul Jones made the acquaintance 
of Thomas Jefferson, Colonel Washington, and 
Philip Livingston of New York, and as hostil- 
ities became more imminent Jones assured these 
gentlemen that his services would be at the 
disposal of the colonies whenever they might 
be needed. 

While in New York, in the early spring of 
1775, Jones was informed by William Living- 
ston of the battle of Lexington, the news of which 
had just reached that city. Jones at once wrote 
to Joseph Hewes begging him to keep his name 
in memory when Congress took any provision 
for creating a naval force. This appeal met 
with a ready response and at a session of the 



64 The American Navy 

Naval Committee of Congress, held June 24th, 
the chairman was authorized " to invite John 
Paul Jones, Esquire, gent, of Virginia, Master 
Mariner, to lay before the Committee such in- 
formation and advice as may seem to him useful 
in assisting the said Committee to discharge its 
labors." As a result of this meeting Jones was 
requested to act as a member of a commission 
of experienced persons in selecting and pur- 
chasing certain vessels for Congress. Robert 
Morris, Nicholas Biddle, and two other mer- 
chant captains were associated with Jones and 
five vessels were purchased under this resolve, 
among them the Alfred, which ship, pierced for 
sixteen guns, became Commodore Esek Hopkins's 
flagship with Paul Jones as first lieutenant. It 
is unnecessary to dwell upon the expedition to 
the island of New Providence, its capture, and 
the fight with the British frigate Glasgow, in 
Long Island Sound, of which contest Jones, in 
his diary, says : " I took my share of the dis- 
honor which attended the first essay of Ameri- 
can arms by sea with the Glasgow." It was 
certainly a very different contest from that 
which was to make the name of Paul Jones 
illustrious three years later, when the Bon 
Homme Richard met the British frigate Serapis 
in deadly conflict in the English Channel. 

On the 1st of May, 1776, Lieutenant John 
Paul Jones was ordered by Commodore Hop- 
kins to the command of the schooner Providence, 




JACOB JONES 
From an engraving of the painting by Rembrandt Peale 



John Paul Jones 65 

to carry to New York two hundred soldiers that 
had been lent to the squadron by General Wash- 
ington while the ships were short of men. On 
August 8th, Jones received his commission as 
captain from John Hancock, the President of 
Congress; and in October he was ordered to 
command the Alfred, and sailed in company 
with the Providence on a cruise to the north- 
ward. Off Louisburg he captured the Mellish, 
a large ship bound for Quebec, having on board 
eleven thousand stand of arms, several brass 
field-pieces, and over ten thousand suits of 
clothing for the British army. He also cap- 
tured a letter of marque with a rich cargo for 
Liverpool, in addition to a number of smaller 
prizes. Jones brought the Mellish and her 
valuable cargo safely into Dartmouth, and the 
welcome news of this bountiful supply of cloth- 
ing for his ragged army reached General Wash- 
ington just before he recrossed the Delaware 
and won the battle of Trenton. 

On May 9, 1777, Jones was notified by the 
Marine Committee that he was to take the 
Amphitrite, a French ship of twenty guns, from 
Charleston to France, where he was to assume 
command " of one of those fine frigates " that 
Mr. Deane had notified Congress could be pur- 
chased in France. But these orders were later 
superseded by others giving him the command 
of the Ranger, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 
where, on June 14, 1777, Jones hoisted the new 
5 



66 The American Navy 

national flag, this being the first time it was 
displayed on board a man-of-war. This flag had 
thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, with 
thirteen white stars in a blue field. Twenty-six 
guns were provided for the Ranger, but Jones 
only mounted eighteen six-pounders, as the ship 
was very crank. 

He sailed on November 1st, carrying despatches 
that gave the important news of Burgoyne's sur- 
render, and arrived at Nantes on the 2d of De- 
cember, having captured two brigantines on the 
voyage. In acknowledging the receipt of his de- 
spatches, Jones wrote, " I will spread this news 
in France in thirty days," and he came so near 
fulfilling his promise that on the thirty-second 
day after leaving Portsmouth he landed in 
Nantes. 

On the morning of December 5th, Jones placed 
his despatches, written by Washington and 
Jefferson, in the hands of Dr. Franklin in Paris. 
The receipt of this important intelligence in- 
duced King Louis XVI. " to consider favorably 
the overtures of the Commissioners of the United 
States," and it was hoped that our Commission- 
ers would be permitted to fit out and place under 
the command of Jones the fine ship Indien, 46, 
then just completed at Amsterdam. The British 
Minister to the Netherlands, however, denounced 
the vessel to the States-General as an American 
ship-of-war in disguise, exactly as Mr. Adams 
did in the case of the Laird ram, bnilt in Liver- 



John Paul Jones 67 

pool for the Confederate government in 1864 ; 
and the Indien project fell through, to the great 
disappointment of Captain Jones. 

Jones now took the Ranger from Nantes to 
L'Orient and fitted her out. On February 13, 
1778, he received from the French squadron in 
the outer road of Brest the first salute from 
a foreign naval power ever accorded to the 
American flag. On April 10th, the Ranger 
sailed from Brest for the west coast of Ireland, 
but the second day out a westerly gale set in 
and Captain Jones decided to run up through 
St. George's Channel into the Irish Sea. At 
Whitehaven he landed on April 22d, and after 
spiking the guns in the two small forts, which 
were only garrisoned by a few coast-guards, he 
set fire to several ships in the basin and sailed 
away before the arrival of two sloops-of-war sent 
for the protection of the place. The same day, 
Jones bore up for the north shore of Solway 
Frith and made his famous descent on St. Mary's 
Isle, the castle of the Earl of Selkirk, hoping 
to carry off the Earl and hold him as a hostage 
for the better treatment of American prisoners 
then in England. His design was frustrated, 
however, by the absence of the Earl from the 
castle. 

On the afternoon of April 23d, the Ranger 
stood across the Irish Channel, and the next 
morning Jones learned from some fishermen, 
whose boats he picked up and who were very 



68 The American Navy 

ready to give the desired information, that the 
British sloop-of-war Drake, Captain Burden, 
the guard-ship at Carrickfergus, was coming out 
in search of him. Jones had looked in at 
Carrickfergus on the 21st, and had the wind 
served would have attacked the Drake at that 
time. " So now," as he says in his journal, " to 
save trouble I ran down again, hove to off the 
mouth of Belfast Lough, and waited for the 
Drake to work out, which saved me the pain 
of going in after her." As the Ranger hove to 
off Carrickfergus on the 24th, the Drake sent 
out one of her boats to reconnoitre, and Jones 
succeeded in decoying this boat alongside the 
Ranger and captured the midshipman and five 
men that formed her crew. The Drake, with 
wind and tide both against her, worked out of 
port slowly, and it was nearly sundown when 
she got within hail. The Drake, coming up 
astern of the Ranger, hailed, " What ship is 
that? " Jones answered, " The American Con- 
tinental ship Ranger. Come on, we are waiting 
for you ! " 

Both ships fired, almost at once, the Ranger 
a trifle the first. The range was little more 
than that of musket-shot, and the fire of the 
Americans was consequently very deadly. The 
engagement was kept up for nearly an hour, 
when, the Drake's rigging being very much cut 
up, her fore- and main-topsail yards came down 
on the caps, and, as she fell off, Jones luffed 



John Paul Jones 69 

under her stern, and with the starboard tacks on 
board came into a position to rake his enemy, 
when her colors were at once struck and the 
Drake was surrendered by her second lieutenant, 
the captain and first lieutenant having been 
killed during the engagement. 

The Drake was a new ship, less than three 
years off the stocks, mounting twenty guns, 
sixteen nine-pounders, and four four-pounders, 
with a complement of one hundred and fifty- 
seven officers and men. The Ranger had 
fourteen nine-pounders and four six-pounders, 
and one hundred and twenty-six officers and 
men. The British loss was nineteen killed, in- 
cluding the captain and first lieutenant, and 
twenty-eight officers and men severely wounded. 
The Americans lost two killed, including Lieu- 
tenant Wallingford, and six wounded, one mor- 
tally. The Drake received one hundred and 
seven shot, thirty-six at or below the water-line; 
while her upper works were wrecked, five guns 
dismounted, her standing and running rigging 
much damaged, and her foremast seriously 
weakened — a striking evidence of the superior 
gunnery of the Americans. 

Jones now continued his cruise around the 
west coast of Ireland, although after manning 
his prize he had but eighty-six officers and crew 
remaining on board the Ranger. When Jones 
appeared off Brest on the evening of May 8th, 
the French frigate Belle Poule stood out and 



70 The American Navy 

hailed, " Who are you, and what is your prize? " 
To which Jones responded : " The American 
Continental ship Ranger, of eighteen guns, Cap- 
tain Paul Jones; and the man-of-war prize is 
His Britannic Majesty's late ship the Drake, of 
twenty guns. The other prize a-lee is a mer- 
chant ship, not armed." 

Jones was directed to anchor for the night 
under the lee of Eoscannel Point, and the next 
day he took his vessels into the inner harbor, 
where his prize was visited by hundreds of 
officers and officials, among them the Due de 
Chartres, and for the time the American cap- 
tain was the hero of the hour. But within a 
month his troubles began, and Jones was act- 
ually compelled to sell his prizes to provide 
means for paying and feeding his crew, as 
his draft on the American Commissioners for 
24,000 livres was dishonored. 

At last, after infinite difficulty and no end of 
diplomatic intrigue, M. de Sartine, in a letter 
to Franklin, stated that King Louis XVI. had 
decided to purchase and put at the disposition 
of Captain Jones the Duras, an old high-poop 
Indiaman, then at L'Orient. To the Duras were 
finally added, through the influence of the 
banker M. le Ray de Chaumont, four other 
vessels — the Pallas, 32, and the Vengeance, 12; 
two purchased merchantmen ; the Cerf, a large 
cutter, and the Alliance, 32, a ship built for war 
purposes. 



John Paul Jones 71 

The Duras originally carried her guns on one 
deck, with a certain number of light pieces on 
the qUarter-deck and forecastle; but Jones had 
twelve ports cut in the gun-room below, where he 
had six old eighteen-pounders mounted, very un- 
fortunately, as it subsequently proved. When 
ready for sea, the Duras, renamed the Bon 
Homme Richard, in honor of Dr. Franklin, 
mounted twenty-eight twelve-pounders on the 
gun-deck, eight nine-pounders on the forecastle 
and the quarter-deck, and six eighteen-pounders 
below — making forty-two guns in all. In view 
of the desperate fight that was awaiting him on 
the coming cruise, Jones was very fortunate in 
securing for the Richard, just before he sailed, 
one hundred American seamen, who had mean- 
while been exchanged for the captured crews of 
the Drake and other British ships. With this 
accession he had one hundred and fifty sturdy 
Americans in his crew. 

On the morning of August 31st, the west coast 
of the Hebrides being abeam, the Richard cap- 
tured the British letter-of-marque Union, mount- 
ing twenty-two six-pounders, laden with a cargo 
of naval and military stores for the British 
forces in Canada, and carrying a valuable mail, 
including despatches from the British Govern- 
ment to Sir Guy Carleton in Canada, and Sir 
William Howe at New York. 

After an attempt, rendered ineffectual by a 
heavy northwest gale, to attack the port of 



72 The American Navy 

Leith, the Richard and the Pallas worked to the 
southward, and on the 22d of September, Jones 
discovered a fleet of colliers anchored under the 
lee of Spurm Head, in the mouth of the Humber, 
under convoy of a frigate. Just before dark, 
while meditating an attack on the fleet, the little 
Vengeance ran under the lee of the Richard and 
informed Captain Jones that the Baltic fleet 
had put into Bridlington Bay, under convoy, and 
were awaiting a shift of wind to enable them 
to fetch the Downs. 

Ordering the Vengeance to stand down to the 
southward and eastward and notify the Alliance 
that the next rendezvous would be Flamborough 
Head, Jones laid his ship's head north-northeast, 
signalling the Pallas to keep on his starboard 
quarter and not to lose sight of the Richard. 

In the morning, both the American ships were 
out of sight of land, and, as the wind was light, 
they were all the forenoon beating up for Brid- 
lington Bay. As they were hauling up on the 
starboard tack, the whole Baltic fleet came run- 
ning out before the wind, for Scarborough, the 
two convoys covering their rear and flank. 

Jones at once hauled his ship up to the wind 
in the endeavor to get, if possible, between the 
land and the larger ship, and, as the breeze 
was light, the whole afternoon was consumed 
in accomplishing this manoeuvre; but by sun- 
down he had succeeded in getting into the desired 
position. 



John Paul Jones 73 

The vivid extract that follows describing the 
dramatic battle between the Bon Homme Richard 
and the Serapis, famous in American history, 
is taken from Herman Melville's Israel Potter, 
or Fifty Years Exile. 

As the ships neared, a hazy darkness overspread 
the water. The moon was not yet risen. Objects 
were perceived with difficulty. Borne by a soft moist 
breeze over the gentle waves, they came within 
pistol-shot. Owing to the obscurity, and the well- 
known neighborhood of other vessels, the Serapis 
was uncertain who the Richard was. Through the 
dim mist each ship loomed forth to the other vast, 
but indistinct, as the ghost of Morven. Sounds of 
the tramping of resolute men echoed from either 
hull, whose tight decks dully resounded like drum- 
heads in a funeral march. 

The Serajris hailed twice. At the instant of the 
second hail, she was answered by a broadside. For 
half an hour the combatants deliberately manoeu- 
vred, continually changing their position, but al- 
ways within shot fire. The Serapis — the better 
sailer of the two — kept critically circling the 
Richard — making lounging advances now and then, 
and as suddenly steering off; hate causing her to 
act not unlike a wheeling cock about a hen, when 
stirred by the contrary passion. Meanwhile, though 
within easy speaking distance, no further syllable 
was exchanged; but an incessant cannonade was 
kept up. 

At this point, a third party, the Scarborough, 
drew near, seemingly desirous of giving assistance 



74 The American Navy 

to her consort. But thick smoke was now added 
to the night's natural obscurity. The Scarborough 
imperfectly discerned two ships, and plainly saw 
the cannon fire they made; but which was which, 
she could not tell. Eager to befriend the Serapis, 
she durst not fire a gun, lest she might unwittingly 
act the part of a foe. As when a hawk and a crow 
are clawing and beaking high in the air, a second 
crow, flying near, will seek to join the battle, but, 
finding no fair chance to engage, at last flies away 
to the woods, just so did the Scarborough now. 
Prudence dictated the step; because several chance 
shot — from which of the combatants could not be 
known — had already struck the. Scarborough. So 
unwilling uselessly to expose herself, off went for 
the present this baffled and ineffectual friend. . . . 
Through this sardonical mist the face of the Man- 
in-the-Moon — looking right toward the combatants, 
as if he were standing in a trap-door of the 
sea, leaning forward leisurely with his arms com- 
placently folded over upon the edge of the horizon. 
— this queer face wore a serious, apishly self- 
satisfied leer, as if the Man-in-the-Moon had some- 
how secretly put up the ships to their contest, and 
in the depths of his malignant old soul was not 
unpleased to see how well his charms worked. There 
stood the grinning Man-in-the-Moon, his head just 
dodging into view over the rim of the sea : — 
Mephistopheles prompter of the stage. 

Aided now a little by the planet, one of the con- 
sorts of the Richard, the Pallas, hovering far out- 
side the fight, dimly discerned the suspicious form 
of a lonely vessel unknown to her. She resolved to 
engage it if it proved to be a foe. But ere they 



John Paul Jones 75 

joined, the unknown ship — which proved to be the 
Scarborough — received a broadside at long gun's 
distance from another consort of the Richard, the 
Alliance. The shot whizzed across the broad in- 
terval like shuttlecocks across a great hall. Pre- 
sently the battledores of both batteries were at 
work and rapid compliments of shuttlecocks were 
very promptly exchanged. The adverse consorts of 
the two main belligerents fought with all the rage 
of those fiery seconds who in some desperate duels 
make their principal's quarrel their own. Diverted 
from the Richard and the Serapis by this little 
by-play, the Man-in-the-Moon, all eager to see what 
it was, somewhat raised himself from his trap-door 
with an added grin on his face. By this time, off 
sneaked the Alliance, and down swept the Pallas, at 
close quarters engaging the Scarborough; an en- 
counter destined in less than an hour to end in the 
latter ship's striking her flag. 

Compared to the Serapis and the Richard, the 
Pallas and the Scarborough were as two pages to 
two knights. In their immature way they showed 
the same traits as their fully developed superiors. 

Thus far the Serapis and the Richard had been 
manoeuvring and chasseing to each other like part- 
ners in a cotillion, all the time indulging in rapid 
repartee. 

But finding at last that the superior manageable- 
ness of the enemy's ship enabled him to get the 
better of the clumsy old Indiaman the Richard, 
in taking position, Paul, with his wonted resolution, 
at once sought to neutralize this by hugging him 
close. But the attempt to lay the Richard right 
across the head of the Serapis ended quite other- 



76 The American Navy 

wise, in sending the enemy's jib-boom just over the 
Richard's great tower of Pisa, 1 where Israel was 
stationed; who, catching it eagerly, stood for an 
instant holding to the slack of the sail, like one 
grasping a horse by the mane prior to vaulting into 
the saddle. 

" Aye, hold hard, lad," cried Paul springing to 
his side with a coil of rigging. With a few rapid 
turns he knitted himself to his foe. The wind now 
acting on the sails of the Serapis forced her, heel 
and point, her entire length, cheek by jowl, along- 
side the Richard. The projecting cannon scraped; 
the yards interlocked; but the hulls did not touch. 
A long lane of darkling water lay wedged between, 
like that narrow canal in Venice which dozes be- 
tween the shadowy piles, and high in air is secretly 
crossed by the Bridge of Sighs. But where the 
six yard-arms reciprocally arched overhead, three 
bridges were both seen and heard, as the moon and 
wind kept rising. 

Into that Lethean canal — pond-like in its smooth- 
ness as compared with the sea without — fell many 
a poor soul that night; fell, forever forgotten. 

As some heaving rent coinciding with a disputed 
frontier on a volcanic plain, that boundary abyss 
was the jaws of death to both sides. So contracted 
was it, that in many cases the gun-rammers had 
to be thrust into the opposite ports, in order to 
enter the muzzles of their own cannon. It seemed 
more an intestine feud than a fight between 
strangers. Or rather it was as if the Siamese 
Twins, oblivious of their fraternal bond, should rage 
in unnatural fight. 

1 The poop. 



John Paul Jones 77 

Ere long a horrible explosion was heard, drown- 
ing for an instant the cannonade. Two of the old 
eighteen-pounders before spoken of as having been 
hurriedly set up below the main deck of the Richard 
burst all to pieces, killing the sailors who worked 
them, and shattering all that part of the hull, as 
if two exploded steam-boilers had shot out of its 
opposite sides. The effect was like the fall of the 
walls of a house. Little now upheld the great tower 
of Pisa but a few naked iron stanchions. Thence- 
forth not a few balls from the Serapis must have 
passed straight through the Richard without graz- 
ing her. It was like firing buck-shot through the 
ribs of a skeleton. 

But further forward, so deadly was the broadside 
from the heavy batteries of the Serapis — levelled 
point-blank, and right down the throat and bowels, 
as it were, of the Richard — that it cleared every- 
thing before it. The men on the Richard's covered 
gun-deck ran above, like miners from the fire-damp. 
Collecting on the forecastle, they continued to fight 
with grenades and muskets. The soldiers also were 
in the lofty tops, whence they kept up incessant 
volleys, cascading their fire down as pouring lava 
from cliffs. 

The position of the men in the two ships was 
now exactly reversed. For while the Serapis was 
tearing the Richard all to pieces below deck, and 
had swept that covered part almost of the last 
man, the Richard's crowd of musketry had complete 
control of the upper deck of the Serapis. where it 
was almost impossible for man to remain unless 
as a corpse. Though in the beginning the tops of 
the Serapis had not been unsupplied with marks- 



78 The American Navy 

men, yet they had long since been cleared by the 
overmastering musketry of the Richard. Several, 
with leg or arm broken by a ball, had been seen 
going dimly downward from their giddy perch, like 
falling pigeons shot on the wing. 

As busy swallows about barn-eaves and ridge- 
poles, some of the Richard's marksmen, quitting 
their tops, now went far out on their yard-arms, 
where they overhung the Berapis. From thence they 
dropped hand-grenades upon her decks, like apples, 
which growing in one field fall over the fence into 
another. Others of their band flung the same sour 
fruit into the open ports of the Serapis. A hail- 
storm of aerial combustion descended and slanted 
on the Berapis, while horizontal thunderbolts rolled 
crossways through the subterranean vaults of the 
Richard. The belligerents were no longer, in the 
ordinary sense of things, an English ship and an 
American ship. It was a co-partnership and joint- 
stock combustion-company, of both ships; yet 
divided, even in participation. The two vessels 
were as two houses, through whose party-wall doors 
have been cut: one family (the Guelphs) occupying 
the whole lower story; another family (the Ghibe- 
lines), the whole upper story. 

Meanwhile, determined Paul flew hither and 
thither like the meteoric corposant-ball, which shift- 
ingly dances on the tips and verges of ship's rigging 
in storms. Wherever he went, he seemed to cast 
a pale light on all faces. Blacked and burnt, his 
Scotch bonnet was compressed to a gun wad on 
his head. His Parisian coat, with its gold-laced 
sleeve laid aside, disclosed to the full the blue tat- 
tooing on his arm, which sometimes in fierce ges- 



John Paul Jones 79 

tures streamed in the blaze of the cannonade, 
cabalistically terrific as the charmed standard of 
Satan. Yet his frenzied manner was less a tes- 
timony of his internal commotion than intended 
to inspirit and madden his men, some of whom, 
seeing him, in transports of intrepidity stripped 
themselves to their trousers, exposing their naked 
bodies to the as naked shot. The same was done 
on the Serapis, where several guns were seen sur- 
rounded by their buff crews, as by fauns and 
satyrs. 

At the beginning of the fray, before the ships 
interlocked, in the intervals of smoke which swept 
over the ships as mist over mountain-tops, afford- 
ing open rents here and there — the gun-deck of the 
Serapis, at certain points, showed, congealed for 
the instant in all attitudes of dauntlessness, a 
gallery of marble statues — fighting gladiators. 

Stooping low and intent, with one braced leg 
thrust behind and one arm thrust forward, curling 
round towards the muzzle of the gun, there was 
seen the loader, performing his allotted part; on 
the other side of the carriage, in the same stooping 
posture, but with both hands holding his long black 
pole, pike-wise, ready for instant use — stood the 
eager rammer and sponger; while at the breech, 
crouched the wary Captain of the gun, his keen 
eye, like the watching leopard's, leering along the 
range; and behind all, tall and erect, the Egyptian 
symbol of death, stood the matchman, immovable 
for the moment, his long-handled match reserved. 
Up to their two long death-dealing batteries, the 
trained men of the Serapis stood and toiled in 
mechanical magic of discipline. They tended those 



80 The American Navy 

rows of guns, as Lowell girls the rows of looms in 
a cotton factory. The Parcae were not more 
methodical ; Atropos not more fatal ; the automaton 
chess-player not more irresponsible. 

" Look, lad ; I want a grenade, now, thrown down 
their main hatchway. I saw a long pile of cartridges 
there. The powder monkeys have brought them up 
faster than they can be used. Take a bucket of 
combustibles, and let 's hear from you presently." 

These words were spoken by Paul to Israel. 
Israel did as ordered. In a few minutes, bucket 
in hand, begrimed with powder, sixty feet in air, 
he hung like Apollyon from the extreme tip of the 
yard over the fatal abyss of the hatchway. As 
he looked down between the eddies of smoke into 
that slaughterous pit, it was like looking from the 
verge of a cataract down into the yeasty pool at 
its base. Watching his chance he dropped one 
grenade with such fatal precision that, striking its 
mark, an explosion rent the Serapis like a volcano. 
The long row of heaped cartridges was ignited. The 
fire ran horizontally, like an express on a railway. 
More than twenty men were instantly killed; nearly 
forty wounded. This blow restored the chances of 
battle, before in favor of the Serapis. 

At this juncture the Alliance again appeared, 
for the second time in the engagement, and, 
running across the bow of the Richard and the 
stern of the Sera-pis, raked both ships indis- 
criminately with round-, grape-, and bar-shot. 
This, notwithstanding Jones (as he testified at 
the court-martial of Captain Landais) " con- 



John Paul Jones 81 

stantly called from the Richard for him not to 
fire, but to lay the enemy alongside." From 
this fire, Master's Mate Caswell and several men 
were wounded. After firing several broadsides 
the Alliance again ran off to leeward and took 
no further part in the action. 

Captain Pearson, who seems to have been 
fertile in expedient, now let go his larboard 
anchor, hoping, as his ship brought up, she might 
drift clear of the Richard; but it was calm, and 
as the lashings held, the two ships, lashed to- 
gether, swung to the anchor. Jones not only 
kept up his deadly musketry fire, but by con- 
stant hammering with the three nine-pounders on 
his quarter-deck, he had nearly cut in two the 
mainmast of the Serapis ten feet above her deck. 
As an evidence of the havoc made, meanwhile, 
by the sharpshooters, Dr. Bannatyne, the English 
surgeon, says : " No less than eleven men were 
shot at our wheel, seven of whom were killed 
outright, and all, without exception, were struck 
by musket-balls." 

At this period of the fight the mainmast of 
the Serapis fell, carrying with it the mizzen- 
topmast. Soon after, Jones mustered a board- 
ing party of twenty-five or thirty sailors, each 
with a cutlass and two pistols, and a few with 
hatchets, and headed by Acting-Lieutenant 
John Maynant, they boarded the Serapis, land- 
ing in the waist at the break of the top-gallant- 
forecastle. As Maynant's feet struck the deck, 



82 The American Navy 

a sailor struck a sharp boarding-pike through 
the fleshy part of his thigh, but the lieutenant 
shot the Englishman at the same moment, kill- 
ing him instantly. The American boarders 
carried everything before them, and Captain 
Pearson, seeing they were in full possession of 
the fore part of his ship, seized the halliards 
of the ensign and lowered the flag of the Serapis 
himself. 

But the confusion was so great that for sev- 
eral minutes the firing from the gun-deck of 
the Sera pis and from the marines of the Richard 
continued, until Maynant called to Lieutenant 
Dale : " He has struck ; stop the firing. Come 
on board and take possession ! " Dale at once 
swung himself on board and, going aft, said to 
Captain Pearson : " I have the honor, sir, to 
be the first lieutenant of the ship alongside, 
which is the American Continental ship Bon 
Homme Richard, under command of Commodore 
Paul Jones. What ship is this? " 

" His Britannic Majesty's late ship, the 
Serapis, sir," was the response, " and I am Cap- 
tain Richard Pearson." 

" Pardon me, sir," said the young American 
courteously, " in the haste of the moment, I for- 
got to inform you that my name is Richard 
Dale, and I must request you to pass on board 
the ship alongside." 

The first lieutenant of the Serapis coming up 
from below at this moment, and seeing the 



John Paul Jones 83 

American officer, inquired of bis captain, " Has 
the enemy struck, sir? " 

" No, sir," responded Pearson ; " I have 
struck." 

In his journal, Jones describes the formal 
surrender as follows: 

Captain Pearson now confronted me, the image 
of chagrin and despair. He offered me his sword, 
with a slight bow, but was silent. His first lieu- 
tenant followed suit. I was sorry for them, for 
they had fought their ship better and braver than 
any English ship was ever fought before, and this 
fortune of war came hard to them. I wanted to 
speak, but they were so sad and dignified in their 
silence I hardly knew what to say. Finally, I 
mustered courage and said, as I took the swords 
and handed them to Midshipman Potter at my el- 
bow: "Captain Pearson, you have fought heroically. 
You have worn this sword to your own credit and 
to the honor of your service. I hope your sovereign 
will suitably reward you." He bowed again, but 
made no reply, whereupon I requested him and his 
lieutenant to accompany Mr. Potter to my cabin. 

It was midnight when this most remarkable 
sea-fight ended, and upon inspection it was found 
that the Richard had seven feet of water in her 
hold, although the pumps were constantly run- 
ning, double-manned by the English prisoners. 
The lashings that held the ships were now cut 
and they drifted apart. After mustering the 
crew it was found that the Richard had sixty 



84 The American Navy 

killed and over one hundred and twenty 
wounded; nearly every twelve-pounder gun in 
the starboard broadside was dismounted or dis- 
abled, the starboard side of the ship had been 
fairly driven in, almost to the water's edge, 
abreast of the Serapis's lower tier of eighteen- 
pounders, and her rudder was cut entirely off, 
in fact she was a hopeless wreck. 

It was at once apparent that she could not 
be kept afloat, and, in fact, had it not been al- 
most calm, with an unusually smooth sea, the 
Richard would have surely sunk long before the 
battle ended. The work of removing the wounded 
American officers and crew to the Serapis was 
at once begun, but it was not until nearly even- 
ing of the following day that this task was com- 
pleted. The crew and the English prisoners 
were also transferred, and then, last of all, Paul 
Jones, leaving the Richard alone with the dead 
for whom she made a fitting sepulchre, stepped 
into his boat and bade adieu to the gallant ship 
with whose fame his name will always be 
associated. 

In his journal, Jones says: 

The ensign-gaff, shot away in action, had been 
fished and put in place soon after firing ceased, 
and our torn and tattered flag was left flying when 
we abandoned her. As she plunged down by the 
head at the last, her taffrail momentarily rose in 
the air; so the very last vestige mortal eyes ever 



John Paul Jones 85 

saw of the Bon Homme Richard was the defiant 
wavering of her un conquered and unstricken flag 
as she went down. And as I had given them the 
good old ship for their sepulchre, I now bequeathed 
to my immortal dead the flag they had so desperately 
defended for their winding-sheet'! 

This flag had an uncommon history. It was 
made from pieces of their best silk gowns by 
the young ladies of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 
to hoist on the Ranger, on July 4, 1777, and it 
was the first American flag to be saluted by the 
guns of a European naval power at L'Orient. 
Jones carried it with him to the Bon Homme 
Richard when he assumed command of that ship. 
When he returned to America in 1781, he met 
Miss Langdon, one of the original donors, to 
whom he said that it was his ardent desire to 
bring the flag, with all its glories, back un- 
tarnished to the fair hands that had given it 
to him four years before. " But, Miss Mary," 
he added, " I could n't bear to strip it from the 
poor old ship in her last agony, nor could I 
deny to my dead on her decks, who had given 
their lives to keep it flying, the glory of taking 
it with them ! " 

" You did exactly right, Commodore," she re- 
sponded. " That flag is just where we all wish 
it to be — flying at the bottom of the sea over 
the only ship ever sunk in victory. If you had 
taken it from her and brought it back to us, 
we would hate you ! " 



86 The American Navy 

After taking command of the Serapis, Jones 
at once rigged jury-masts, and after tossing 
about in the North Sea for ten days with head 
winds and bad weather, the fleet bore away for 
the Texel, where they anchored October 3d. On 
the passage they narrowly missed falling in with 
the British ship Edgar, 74, that was in search 
of them. 

At the Texel the five hundred and four 
British prisoners were landed, and after months 
of tedious negotiations, and very sorely against 
his will, Jones gave up his prisoners and his 
prizes to his patron, the French king, and as- 
sumed command of the Alliance in December, 
1779. 

On Christmas Day he ran through the Straits 
of Dover and down the English Channel, and 
then cruised as far south as Corunna. While 
off that port, his crew sent Jones a petition, 
which read : " We respectfully request you, sir, 
to lay us in the Alliance alongside any single- 
decked English ship to be found in these seas, or 
any double-decked ship under a fifty." This 
petition from the veterans of the Serapis fight 
affected their captain very sensibly. 

Paul Jones was received with extraordinary 
honors at the French Court, and was invested 
with the Grand Cross of the Order of Military 
Merit by Louis XVI., while he was courted by 
the nobility and became the hero of the day in 
Paris. 



John Paul Jones 87 

In 1781, Jones returned to the United States, 
where he received the thanks of Congress, a 
commendatory letter from General Washington, 
and he was given charge of the construction of 
the America, 74, the first line-of-battle ship 
built in the United States. When completed, 
this fine vessel was presented to the King of 
France as compensation for the loss of the 
Magnifique, stranded in Boston harbor while 
serving in the Revolutionary War. The America 
was later captured by the British from the 
French, and was incorporated into the English 
navy. 

On October 16, 1787, Congress passed a reso- 
lution that a medal of gold be struck and 
presented to Chevalier Paul Jones, in commem- 
oration of the valor and brilliant services of that 
officer in command of a squadron of American 
and French ships under the flag and commission 
of the United States, off the coast of Great 
Britain, in the late war; and that the Honor- 
able Thomas Jefferson, Minister of the United 
States at the Court of Versailles, have the same 
executed with the proper devices. 

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs was ordered 
by Congress to prepare a letter to be signed by 
the President, embodying the above resolution, 
which Jones was to deliver " into the hands of 
His Most Christian Majesty." 

Before he left the United States, for France, 
in 1787, Congress recommended the settlement 



88 The American Navy 

of Jones's claim for " pay, advances, and ex- 
penses," amounting to £9784 16s, Id., " or such 
part thereof as may, consistently with the exist- 
ing condition of the Treasury, be practicable." 
As the Board of Treasury could pay only £2000 
on account, Jones declined to accept any part 
at that time, and it was not until July 6, 1848, 
that Congress appropriated f 50,000 for the bene- 
fit of the heirs-at-law of Paul Jones, in full 
settlement of this claim. 

Before the gallant Commodore sailed from 
the shores of America for the last time, he was 
entertained at a grand dinner in New York, on 
November 10th, by John Jay, at which forty 
guests were at table. On November 11th, Jones 
sailed in the ship Governor Clinton, and was 
landed at Dover nineteen days later. In Lon- 
don he stayed one week, having confidential 
letters for our Minister, Mr. Adams, and he then 
passed over to Paris, where he remained until 
January, 1788, when Mr. Jefferson sent him to 
Copenhagen as Plenipotentiary Agent. At the 
Danish Court he received special attention, and 
became a great favorite with the royal person- 
ages. While at Copenhagen, the Russian Min- 
ister, Baron Krudsner, laid before Jones a 
definite proposition from the Empress Catherine, 
of Russia, in her own handwriting, offering him 
the command of her naval forces in the Black 
Sea, to co-operate with the army under General 
Suwarrow. His rank was to be " Captain- 



John Paul Jones 89 

commandant with the rank of major-general." 
Jones accepted the offer, with the proviso that 
his rank should be rear-admiral, and this was 
finally granted. 

Notwithstanding the natural jealousy of this 
American sailor promoted over their heads, the 
Russian naval officers recognized the great abil- 
ity and desperate courage of their new Admiral, 
and in the engagements with the Turks during 
the Liman campaign they supported him ad- 
mirably. In the action of June 17th, in which 
the Russian and Turkish fleets were each of 
about the same size, the Turks lost nine of their 
large ships and twenty gunboats, with three 
thousand casualties, while the Russian loss was 
one frigate and six gunboats sunk, with seven 
hundred killed and wounded. The following 
October, the Empress invested Jones with the 
Order of St. Anne, and promoted him to Vice- 
Admiral; but, disgusted with the intrigues of the 
Court and the intolerable jealousy of Prince 
Potemkin and General Nassau-Siegen, he gladly 
accepted a year's leave of absence, and after 
visiting Warsaw, Vienna, Munich, and Amster- 
dam, Jones arrived in Paris, in May, 1790, where 
he remained until July 18, 1792, when he died 
of dropsy of the breast, just as he had been 
appointed, at the special request of Jefferson, 
United States Commissioner for treating with 
the Dey of Algiers on the subject of peace and 
of the ransom of Americans held in captivity 



9° The American Navy 

by that power. In his last moments, while gasp- 
ing for breath, Jones bequeathed — by the hands 
of Gouverneur Morris — " the sword of honor " 
he had received from King Louis of France to 
Richard Dale — " my good old Dick," — as he 
called the gallant officer who had been his first 
lieutenant in the Bon Homme Richard, the 
Alliance, and the Ariel. 

The French National Assembly ordered a pub- 
lic funeral for " Paul Jones, Admiral of the 
United States of America," and Cambon moved 
that " the President of the Assembly shall forth- 
with name twelve members, including himself, to 
represent our desire to so honor the memory of 
such a man." Jules Marron, rector of the Pro- 
testant Consistory of Paris, pronounced the 
funeral oration, and Bertrand Barere delivered 
from the portico of the Palace of Justice an 
oration upon " The Freedom of the Sea," extol- 
ling the achievements of his dead friend. 

One hundred and thirteen years later, in June, 
1905, the remains of John Paul Jones were re- 
moved from the place of their interment in Paris 
and, after a brilliant funeral pageant through 
the streets of the French capital, were delivered 
on board the United States steam frigate Brook- 
lyn at Cherbourg. Thence, accompanied by 
three vessels of war, they were taken to Chesa- 
peake Bay, where they were received by Rear- 
Admiral Evans, with eleven ships of war, and 
escorted to Annapolis. There, within the pre- 



John Paul Jones 91 

cincts of the Naval Academy, in the presence 
of the President of the United States, the Gov- 
ernor of Maryland, and a vast concourse of rep- 
resentatives of the Old World and the New, they 
were reinterred with military honors. 

Thus ended one of the most impressive demon- 
strations of international honor ever paid to a 
naval hero. 



CHAPTER V 

THE CRUISES OF THE PRIVATEERS " YANKEE," 

" GENERAL PICKERING," AND " PRINCE DE 

NEUFCHATEL " 

A FAVORITE name for our private armed 
ships in the War of 1812 was " Yankee." 
Thus we find in the annals of the privateers the 
Yankee, the True-Blooded Yankee, the Yankee 
American, and the Yankee Porter. In this 
sketch, however, we shall deal with the six 
cruises of the original vessel, the Yankee. She 
was a fast sailing brig of one hundred and sixty- 
eight tons, mounting fourteen nine- and six- 
pounders in broadside and a twelve-pounder 
long-torn amidships. She was manned, mainly, 
by Rhode Island seamen and commanded by 
Captain Oliver Wilson. 

She sailed from Bristol the middle of July, 
1812, and about noon, when off Halifax, Nova 
Scotia, she sighted a large ship, evidently well 
armed. Captain Wilson's crew went to quarters 
and the Yankee approached the enemy on her 
weather quarter. She showed English colors 
and Wilson at once fired the first broadside. 

92 



The Cruises of the "Yankee" 93 

The stranger promptly responded and a sharp 
action, at close quarters, ensued, in which the 
American marksmen in the Yankee's tops took 
an active part, shooting the English helmsman. 
This caused the English vessel to fall off from 
the wind, and in the confusion Captain Wilson 
luffed across his enemy's bow and delivered a 
series of terrific raking broadsides, the riflemen, 
meanwhile, keeping up such a deadly fire that 
the Englishman was forced to surrender. The 
prize proved to be the British privateer Royal 
Bounty, Captain Henry Gambles, a fine vessel 
of six hundred and fifty-eight tons, mounting 
ten guns, but manned by only twenty-five men. 
She was very much cut up in hull, sails, and 
rigging, having been struck by more than one 
hundred and fifty shot. She had two killed and 
seven wounded, among the latter her commander 
and one of her officers. After sending her prize 
into a home port, the Yankee continued her 
cruise, capturing several other vessels, among 
them the Eliza Ann, from Liverpool, with a full 
cargo of British goods. With this prize the 
Yankee returned to Boston. 

About the middle of October the Yankee 
sailed, on her second cruise, to the West Coast 
of Africa. After capturing the British sloop 
Mary Ann, of four guns, with a cargo of gold 
dust, ivory, and carved wood, valued at $28,000, 
she joined issue with the schooner Alder, six 
guns. This was a stubborn fight and was only 



94 The American Navy 

successful when, after blowing up the quarter- 
deck of the enemy, by which her commander 
and six of the enemy were killed, the vessel 
surrendered. The next prize was taken farther 
down the coast, where a brig was found anchored 
under the guns of what appeared to be a for- 
midable fort. Captain Wilson, however, actually 
cut this vessel out from her haven and brought 
her out at night to his anchorage. She proved 
to be the Fly with a cargo valued at $36,000. 
Continuing the cruise, the Yankee captured the 
brig Thames, of Liverpool, with a f 40,000 cargo ; 
the brig Harriet and Matilda, carrying eight 
guns; the brig Shannon, ten guns; the schooner 
George, taken by a bold dash one evening into 
Tradetown ; and the schooner Alfred. The Yan- 
kee returned to Bristol in March, 1813, having 
taken, in one hundred and fifty days, eight 
vessels with property valued at very nearly 
$300,000. 

On May 20, 1813, the Yankee sailed, this time 
under command of Captain Elisha Snow, and 
two days out of port captured the brig William. 
On the 30th they fell in with the brig Thames 
of fourteen guns, and after an hour's fight cap- 
tured her, the second of her name taken by the 
Yankee. The cargo of cotton in this vessel was 
sold for $110,000. The Yankee was now near- 
ing the coast of Ireland, and when in sight of 
land she captured the sloop Earl Camden, which 
was sent into France. Eight days later, while 



The Cruises of the " Yankee" 95 

still in sight of the Irish coast, she took the 
brigs Elizabeth and the Watson, each loaded 
with cotton, and sent them into France. These 
two cargoes were valued at f 140,000. The next 
day the brig Mariner, laden with rum and 
sugar, valued at $70,000, fell captive to the 
active little Yankee and was also ordered to 
France. 

Captain Snow, now deeming it prudent to 
leave the Irish coast, stood out to sea and on 
July 23d a vessel was sighted, which declined 
to heave to. Snow hoisted American colors and 
a pennant, and sent a shot from his long-torn to 
emphasize his demand, whereupon the stranger 
displayed Spanish colors and responded with a 
stern gun. The Yankee was gaining rapidly on 
the chase and as she neared her Snow fired a 
lee gun, upon which the chase luffed up and 
opened with grape from her stern guns. Be- 
lieving, now, that he was dealing with an English- 
man in disguise, Snow responded so vigorously 
that after half a dozen broadsides the Spanish 
colors came down. Sending a boat on board 
Snow found, to his chagrin, that the vessel was 
the Spanish privateer Nueva Constitution, a 
ship of three hundred tons, with six twenty- 
four and two twelve-pounders. Joint apologies 
were now in order, and the two vessels separated 
after their profitless combat. 

On August 20, 1813 the Yankee returned to 
Bristol, having in these three cruises captured 



96 The American Navy 

twenty-two English vessels, without the loss of 
a man. She sailed on a fourth cruise, on Sep- 
tember 13th, commanded by Thomas Jones, and 
in forty-nine days made eight captures, with 
cargoes valued at |200,000. In June, 1814, the 
Yankee again sailed under the command of Cap- 
tain Elisha Snow, making a short but very suc- 
cessful cruise during which she captured four 
vessels, one of enormous value, the gross receipts 
from the sale of her cargo being nearly $600,000. 
In her sixth and last cruise before the termina- 
tion of the war, the Yankee took six vessels. The 
last, the General Wellesley, of six hundred tons 
with sixteen guns, was captured only after a 
running fight of several hours. This prize, 
valued at $250,000, was lost on the bar in en- 
tering Charleston harbor, and all her original 
crew, with two of the American prize crew, 
perished in the wreck. 

To sum up the work of this extraordinarily 
successful little vessel: In her six cruises she 
captured nine ships, twenty-five brigs, five 
schooners, and one sloop, — forty vessels in all 
— and she seized or destroyed property of the 
value of $5,000,000, and sent into Bristol, 
Rhode Island, $1,000,000 worth of goods. On 
the fifth voyage of a few weeks, the owners of 
the Yankee received as their share of the profits 
a quarter of a million dollars, Captain Snow's 
share was $15,789, a cabin boy's $700, and the 
negro servants each received $1121. 



Cruises of the "General Pickering" 97 

THE CRUISES OF THE " GENERAL PICKERING " 

One of the most daring and successful among 
the many brave commanders of our early priva- 
teers was Jonathan Haraden, of Salem, a worthy 
descendant of the old English sea-rovers that 
ravaged the Spanish Main. He was born in 
Gloucester, that nursery of sturdy seamen, in 
1745. In 1776, soon after the outbreak of hos- 
tilities with Great Britain, he was appointed a 
lieutenant of the privateer brig Tyrannicide, 
Captain Fiske, carrying fourteen guns, with one 
hundred men. She belonged to Richard Cabot, 
of Salem, father of George Cabot, President of 
the famous Hartford Convention, and great- 
grandfather of Henry Cabot Lodge, the present 
senior United States Senator from Massa- 
chusetts. 

The Tyrannicide speedily captured a royal 
cutter, bound from Halifax to New York, carry- 
ing important despatches, and a few days later 
she had an engagement with the armed schooner 
Despatch, carrying eight guns, twelve swivels, 
and thirty-one men. At the end of an hour's 
fight the Despatch surrendered, her commander 
and seven men being wounded and one killed, 
while the vessel was very much cut up. The 
American loss was one killed and two wounded. 
In July the Tyrannicide captured the armed ship 
Glasgow and made thirty prisoners; the next 
month she took the brig St. Lawrence and the 



98 The American Navy 

schooner Three Brothers. In the following 
month, in company with the privateer Massa- 
chusetts, she attacked the British bark Launs- 
dale and, after a struggle lasting three hours, 
captured her. 

On the 27th of March, 1779, while off Ber- 
muda, the Tyrannicide fell in with the English 
armed brig Revenge, carrying fourteen guns and 
eighty-five men. After some manoeuvring for 
position, the two evenly matched vessels came 
to close quarters and the Americans succeeded 
in bringing their brig close alongside their ad- 
versary. The two crews fought each other with 
desperate valor over the low bulwarks, each, in 
turn boarding and being repelled, until at last 
the captain of the Revenge, having a large num- 
ber of men killed or wounded and two of his 
broadside guns dismounted, called for quarter 
and surrendered. In this contest the Americans 
had eight men wounded. This was the last cap- 
ture made by the Tyrannicide ; for the following 
summer, in the unfortunate Penobscot expedi- 
tion, she with twelve other privateers was de- 
stroyed to prevent falling into the hands of the 
enemy. 

After this active experience in sea warfare, 
Haraden found little difficulty in obtaining com- 
mand of the one-hundred-and-eighty-ton priva- 
teer General Pickering, of sixteen guns. In 
April, 1780, he sailed for Bilboa, Spain, with 
a cargo of sugar, and on the outward voyage, 




STEPHEN DECATUR 

From an engraving of the painting by T. Sully 



Cruises of the "General Pickering" 99 

on May 29th, he was attacked by a British 
cutter, mounting twenty-two guns. Although 
greatly overmatched, Haraden, after a combat 
of two hours, succeeded in beating his antagonist 
off and proceeded on his voyage. As a partial 
compensation, however, for this profitless fight, 
as the General Pickering entered the Bay of 
Biscay, at night, she came upon the British pri- 
vateer schooner Golden Eagle, mounting twenty- 
two guns and carrying sixty men. 

Haraden at once ran alongside of the stranger, 
called upon her to surrender and, trusting to 
the darkness to conceal his strength, boldly an- 
nounced that his vessel was an American cruiser 
and that he would blow the privateer out of 
water if she did not at once surrender! Vivid 
recollections of the fateful cruise of Paul Jones 
in the Ranger and, later, in the Bon Homme 
Richard, the previous year, lingered in the 
memory of the British seamen of the day, so, 
taken completely by surprise, by the appearance 
of the Pickering at close quarters, and awed by 
the bold threat of her commander, the Golden 
Eagle at once surrendered. The English cap- 
tain, when he came on board of his captor, was, 
however, very naturally, greatly humiliated at 
having given up his vessel without a blow to 
such an inferior force. 

A few days later, early in the morning of 
June 3d, as the Pickering and her prize were 
near the entrance to the port of Bilboa, a large 



ioo The American Navy 

armed ship hove in sight, which Haraden learned 
from the captain of the Golden Eagle was the 
privateer Achilles of London, mounting forty- 
two guns, with a complement of one hundred 
and forty men. 

The Yankee captain laid down the spy-glass 
with which he was examining the approaching 
ship and nonchalantly observed : " She is a bit 
bigger than we are, but I shan't run from her," 
then turning to the officer of the deck he said: 
" Keep the ship on her course, sir." 

The wind fell light, and before sunset the 
Achilles had recaptured the Golden Eagle, that 
had fallen to leeward, placed a prize crew on 
board of her, and, learning the character and 
force of the General Pickering, began to beat 
up to windward to obtain a favorable position 
for attacking. Meanwhile night came on and 
the commander of the Achilles deferred the con- 
templated attack until daylight, feeling quite 
confident that his prize was easily within his 
grasp. Haraden does not seem to have been 
the least discomposed at the prospect before him 
of an unequal fight with the powerful Achilles 
the next day ; for it is recorded that " he took 
a sound night's sleep and in the morning re- 
cruited a boatswain and eight seamen from 
among the English prisoners on board his ship." 

Meanwhile the news that a pair of British 
and American warships were about to fight in 
full view of the port had spread through Bilboa, 



Cruises of the "General Pickering" 101 

and crowds of people gathered, eager to witness 
a naval battle, which promised a novel sensation 
for the public, far surpassing a bull fight. The 
coming of night, however, disappointed the spec- 
tators. The rising sun of June -ith, nevertheless, 
found a multitude of Spaniards gathered on the 
hillsides, impatiently waiting for the promised 
spectacle. The Achilles at once began the at- 
tack, standing down for her expected prey with 
hearty cheers from her crew. Haraden, how- 
ever, had placed his ship overnight near certain 
shoals in the harbor, in such a position that, 
as the British ship approached, she would be 
exposed to a raking fire, and the wind dying 
out as she came into range, the Americans were 
enabled to keep up a murderous fire upon their 
foe for nearly two hours from their long-torn 
before the Achilles could get into her desired 
position. 

At last, getting within range, the British ship 
opened with her broadside guns and made every 
effort to get into closer quarters, but Haraden 
maintained his position in shallow water, mean- 
while keeping up a steady fire upon his an- 
tagonist. It is said that at the last, running 
short of shot, he ordered the gunner to load with 
crowbars, a number of which he had taken from 
a prize. The flight of this novel ammunition 
produced the utmost consternation among the 
British and, it is said, precipitated the final de- 
feat of the English ship. After three hours of 



102 The American Navy 

this desperate engagement the Achilles, with a 
decimated crew, made sail to escape. 

Haraden at once followed, in hot chase, and 
offered a reward to the gun's crew which should 
carry away one of the Englishman's spars, but 
without avail. The Pickering succeeded, how- 
ever, in recapturing the Golden Eagle with a 
British prize crew on board, and with the second 
officer of the Achilles in command. 

The excited onlookers of this spectacular con- 
test from the shore now crowded into small boats 
and, wildly enthusiastic, formed an escort for 
the General Pickering and her prize as they 
came into the inner anchorage. It is stated 
that, when she anchored, it was almost possible 
to have walked dry shod ashore over the small 
craft that swarmed about the vessel. When 
Captain Haraden landed, so great was the en- 
thusiasm of the Spaniards over the heroic 
defence of his little vessel, that they raised him 
on their shoulders and bore that victorious com- 
mander in triumph through the city. Mr. Robert 
Cowan, an onlooker of the fight, writes: 

The General Pickering in comparison with her 
antagonist looked like a longboat by the side of a 
ship. As for Captain Haraden he fought with a 
determination that seemed superhuman, and, al- 
though in the most exposed positions, where the 
shot flew around him, he was all the while as calm 
and steady as amid a shower of snowflakes. 



Cruises of the "General Pickering" 103 

Keturning to the United States from Bilboa 
in October, while off Sandy Hook, Captain Hara- 
den fell in with three armed vessels, the ship 
Hope, of fourteen guns, the brig Pomone, of 
twelve guns, and the cutter Royal George, of 
fourteen guns. By a series of skilful manoeuvres 
Haraden succeeded in separating these vessels 
and, after an action of an hour and a half, 
actually captured all three of them and sent 
them into port as prizes. 

On the next cruise the General Pickering fell 
in with a heavily armed king's packet, home- 
ward bound from the West Indies. After an 
engagement of four hours Haraden found that 
he had expended all but one round of ammuni- 
tion and that it was necessary to haul off to 
repair damages. Having speedily effected this, 
he rammed home his last round of shot and 
boldly running alongside his antagonist, declared 
that he would give them exactly five minutes 
to haul down their colors and that, if they did 
not do so at the expiration of that time, he 
would send every man of the crew to the bottom 
of the ocean. Then running up the red flag, the 
signal for « no quarter," he coolly took out his 
watch and, standing where he could be plainly 
seen by the enemy, he called out the minutes 
as they expired. 

This singular summons from the desperate 
Yankee had the expected effect. The dreadful 
suspense, as the minutes ticked off, was too 



io4 The American Na\y 

much for the nerves of the already demoralized 
Englishmen, and before the expiration of the 
allotted time the colors came down. On board- 
ing the prize her decks were found covered with 
dead and wounded men and streams of blood 
were oozing- from her scuppers. 

The last record of Captain Haraden is while 
lie was in command of the Ccesar, fourteen guns, 
on June 5, 1782, just two years after his ex- 
traordinary fight with the Achilles. Tie fell in 
with an English armed ship and a brig and 
joined combat with them both. For two hours 
neither side could gain a decisive advantage, 
regarding which Captain Haraden quaintly 
notes in his journal " both parties separated, 
sufficiently amused." 

In October, 1909, a tablet was placed upon the 
house in Salem where he died in 1808. At the 
ceremony one of the speakers declared that 
" Captain Haraden captured more than one 
thousand guns from the ships of the enemy in 
his various cruises." 

THE "PRINCE OE NEUFCHATEL " 

The Prince de Neufchatel, of New York, was 
a new and splendid vessel mounting seventeen 
guns and carrying one hundred and fifty men, 
and under command of Captain Ordronaux, was 
a very fortunate privateer. During a single 
cruise she was chased at different times by 



Cruise-, of the " Prince de Xtufchatel " i r ^ 

enteen armed British and bj good 

fortune escaped them all, bringing home goods 
rained at 1300,000.00 and much specie. On her 
last crnise in October, 181 1, while off Nantucket, 
she was attacked by fire armed boats from the 
British frigate Endymion. The privateer at the 
time was very .short-handed, having only thirty- 
Mi men at quarters, the remainder of her <. 
being absent in prizes. 

Early in the forenoon the engagement began. 
The attacking boats divided as they approached 
for the assault, one coming on each side, one 
under the stern, and one on each bow, baring 
in all one hundred and eleven men in the 
eaulting part/, a number three time-: greater 
than the priral The attack and the 

defence were equally desperate, but within the 

e of twenty minutes the British were re- 
pulsed and actually forced to cry for quan 
One of the boats had gone to the bottom with 
for* ut of forty-three of her crew, while 

- fearfully cut up. The 

larger portion of the English force engaged 

re killed, wounded, or made prisoners, while 

the pri en killed and 

t wen ty-f on r woun d ed . 

The privateer then made sail and, having 

ter speed than the frig icceeded in 

ping from her foe and arrived safely in 
m on the loth of .-. ]'*] I. 



CHAPTER VI 

THREE CRUISES OF THE FRIGATE " CONSTITUTION " 

THE frigate Constitution or " Old Ironsides " 
as she has been affectionately styled, is 
the last existing tie that links the old navy with 
the new; and that she still holds a most con- 
spicuous place in the national interest of the 
present generation is shown by the hundreds of 
pilgrims, from all parts of the country, who each 
year visit the old ship at the Charlestown Navy 
Yard. 

Since her first cruise, in the summer of 1798 
under Captain Samuel Nicholson, when she was 
in the West Indies during the brief French War, 
down to the beginning of the Civil War, when 
as a training ship for Midshipmen she made the 
voyage from Newport to Annapolis, in charge 
of Lieutenant Commander P. C. Johnson, she had 
always been in more or less active service. On 
this last cruise the Constitution was started from 
Newport in tow of a tugboat, but, disdaining 
this ignominious aid, the good old ship soon ran 
aw T ay from her tug and, for a time logged thir- 
teen and a half knots, as though to show what 
she could still do, as she made her own way 
to her haven at Annapolis. 

106 



Cruises of the " Constitution" 107 

In 1803 Commodore Edward Preble sailed 
from Boston in the Constitution bound for the 
Mediterranean, to take command of the squad- 
ron in the operations against Tripoli. When 
near the entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar, 
one dark night, they suddenly found themselves 
near a large vessel, evidently a ship of war. The 
crew were at once silently brought to quarters 
and Preble hailed "What ship is that?" The 
same question was returned from the stranger, 
in reply to which Preble gave the name of his 
ship and repeated his first question. Again the 
question was returned instead of an answer, 
and again the Constitution's name was given, 
without receiving other reply than the repeti- 
tion, " What ship is that? " 

Preble's patience was now exhausted, so tak- 
ing the trumpet he hailed, " I am now going to 
hail you for the last time. If a proper answer 
is not returned I will fire a shot into you." A 
prompt answer instantly came back : " If you 
fire a shot, I will return a broadside." Preble 
then hailed: "What ship is that?" The re- 
ply was, " This is His Britannic Majesty's ship 
Donnegal, eighty-four guns, Sir Richard Stra- 
han, an English Commodore. Send your boat 
on board." Under the excitement of the mo- 
ment Preble leaped on the hammock netting 
and responded : " This is the United States ship 
Constitution, forty-four guns, Edward Preble, 
an American Commodore, who will be damned 



108 The American Navy 

before he sends his boat on board any vessel." 
Then turning to the crew he cried, " Blow your 
matches, boys." The conversation here ceased 
and soon after a boat came alongside with a 
lieutenant from the frigate Maidstone, who of- 
fered apologies for the seeming rudeness, that 
was caused by the fact that the English ship 
was taken unawares and thus parleyed to gain 
time to get their men to quarters. The apology 
was accepted and the incident closed. 

During the next two years the Constitution 
was kept in a state of constant activity in the 
various operations of the war with the Bar- 
bary States, which have been referred to more 
at length in a previous sketch, and it was a 
great relief when at last hostilities were termi- 
nated by a satisfactory treaty being negotiated 
by Preble, which ended the war and the pay- 
ment of tribute forever. 

War was declared against England on June 
18, 1812, and it was during this struggle that 
the Constitution gained her chief laurels. Three 
days after the declaration of war the Constitu- 
tion, Captain Isaac Hull, sailed from Washing- 
ton and on July 17th fell in with the British 
squadron of four ships, the Africa, 61 ; Shannon, 
38 ; Belvidera, 38 ; and fflolus, 32. A sensational 
chase, lasting sixty hours, ensued, from which 
the Constitution escaped by her extraordinary 
speed aided by the splendid seamanship of her 
commander. Hull then made for Boston, whence 




COMMODORE EDWARD PREBLE, U.S.N. 
From the painting in Faneuil Hall, Boston 



Cruises of the " Constitution " 109 

he sailed again on August 2d, and standing to 
the eastward skirted the coast of Nova Scotia 
and passed across the entrance to the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence to a point near Cape Race. Then 
heading to the southward, at two o'clock on the 
19th, a sail was discovered, which one hour later 
was made out to be a frigate, sailing by the 
wind on the starboard tack; this ship proved to 
be H. B. M. Guerriere, 38, Captain Dacres. She 
maintained her course and the Constitution ap- 
proached her rapidly, the wind being fresh, so 
that at five o'clock they were but five miles 
apart. The Constitution then took in all light sails, 
made ready for action and beat to quarters, the 
crew greeting the call with three hearty cheers. 

The Guerriere, meanwhile, ran up a British 
ensign at each masthead, and backed her main- 
sail, waiting for her enemy to come up. At 
5.05 p.m. she fired her starboard broadside at 
long gun shot, then wore round immediately, 
and discharged her port broadside, but two shots 
in all taking effect. The Constitution hoisted an 
ensign and a jack at each masthead and began 
firing with her bow guns as she could bring 
them to bear, but Hull's object was not to com- 
mence the action seriously until quite close. 
For three quarters of an hour the fight con- 
tinued in this way, the Guerriere wearing from 
time to time, to fire a broadside, and the Ameri- 
can ship yawing to avoid being raked and then 
firing her bow guns. 



no The American Navy 

At last, tiring of these dilatory tactics, Hull 
wore round, set his light sails and headed di- 
rectly for his adversary, who now bore up, so 
that the two ships were sailing in the same 
direction, the Constitution to windward. At 
6.05 the bows of the American frigate began 
to double on the quarter of the English ship. 
As the Constitution drew slowly ahead she 
opened with her forward guns. The crew of 
the other guns had remained quietly at their 
quarters while their ship was thus running up 
alongside of the Guerriere, waiting in silence 
for the order to fire. Several of them were 
killed beside their guns and Lieutenant Morris 
became very impatient to begin firing, but Hull 
restrained him until at last the order came. 
Then the guns poured forth their volleys, and 
in ten minutes the enemy's mizzen-mast went 
by the board, one of the American crew calling 
to his mate as it went over the side, " Damn it, 
Jack, we have made a brig of her ! " 

The Constitution passed ahead about two 
hundred yards, still keeping up a tremendous 
fire, and luffed short round on the Guerriere's 
bow to prevent being raked. In doing this the 
Constitution shot into the wind, got sternway, 
and fell foul of her antagonist. As the vessels 
touched both parties prepared to board, but the 
musketry fire on both sides prevented this. The 
Constitution then filled her sails and shot ahead. 
Just at that moment the foremast of the Guer- 



Cruises of the "Constitution" in 

Here fell, carrying with it the mainmast and 
leaving the vessel a helpless wreck, wallowing 
in the trough of a heavy sea. 

The Constitution now hauled a short distance 
ahead secured her masts, rove new rigging, and 
at seven o'clock stood down and took a favor- 
able position for raking, when the jack that had 
been kept flying on the stump of the mizzen- 
mast of the Guerriere was lowered and Captain 
Dacres surrendered. When Lieutenant George 
C. Read went on board to take possession, he 
found the spar deck a horrible spectacle. The 
masts and yards were hanging over the side, 
many guns were dismounted, and the bodies of 
the dead and dying were lying as they had 
fallen, among the tangle of ropes and rigging. 
The hull was in a sinking condition and in 
places two port-holes had been knocked into 
one. 

At daylight the next morning the officer in 
charge hailed the Constitution to say that the 
Guerriere had four feet of water in her hold 
and there was danger of her sinking. Captain 
Hull at once sent his boats, removed the prison- 
ers, and set the wreck on fire. In a quarter 
of an hour she blew up. The Constitution then 
sailed for Boston with her prisoners, arriving 
August 30th. 

Congress voted Captain Hull a gold medal, 
with silver medals for the officers, and $50,000 
prize money for officers and men. A public 



ii2 The American Navy 

dinner at Faneuil Hall was also given in honor 
of Captain Hull and his officers. 

The Constitution again sailed from Boston, 
on October 27th, under command of Captain 
William Bainbridge, who had meanwhile re- 
lieved Captain Hull, and in company with the 
Hornet she arrived off San Salvador on the 13th 
of December. On the 29th, at 9 a.m., the Con- 
stitution sighted two sails, one of them a large 
frigate, the Java, as it proved, standing directly 
for the American ship. At 12 m. the Constitu- 
tion showed her colors and the stranger set the 
British ensign, both ships standing off from the 
land. At 1.20 p.m. Bainbridge furled his light 
sails and tacked toward the enemy and at 2 p.m. 
the action began on both sides, each ship 
manoeuvring for position. As in the light wind 
that prevailed the English ship sailed best, he 
soon forged ahead and kept away with a view 
to cross the Constitution' 's bow, but was foiled 
by her wearing. The ships were a little too far 
apart for the eighteen-pounders of the English 
ship and she tried to close, in order to use her 
carronades more effectively, while Bainbridge 
maintained a judicious distance, until his oppo- 
nent had been seriously weakened. The Java, 
being the faster ship, attempted three times to 
pass around the Constitution's bow for raking, 
but Bainbridge avoided him each time, by firing 
a broadside and quickly wearing around on the 
other tack, under cover of the smoke. 




13 © 



Cruises of the " Constitution " 113 

About an hour after the action began the Java 
lost her bowsprit and jib-boom and her com- 
mander, Captain Lambert, at once attempted to 
lay his enemy on board, but as the ships came 
in contact the Java's foremast was carried away 
and at the same time her commander fell, 
mortally wounded by a shot from the maintop 
of the Constitution. At 3.15 her maintopmast 
was shot away just above the cap. At 3.55 her 
mizzenmast went by the board. Thus in less 
than an hour the Java lay a dismantled wreck, 
everything above deck, excepting part of the 
mainmast, being swept by the devastating fire 
of the Americans, while few of her guns could 
be handled on account of the wreckage. 

At 4.15 the Constitution hauled ahead to re- 
pair her rigging and examine injuries, and at 
5 p.m. she wore round and stationed herself on 
the bow of the Java, which soon after surren- 
dered, and Lieutenant Parker was sent on board 
to take possession, after a combat lasting two 
hours. 

The Java's loss was forty-eight killed and one 
hundred and two wounded. The Constitution lost 
twelve killed and twenty-two wounded, Captain 
Bainbridge being among the latter. The Java 
was literally picked to pieces, as though in a 
target practice. Her foremast was first cut 
away near the cat-harpins, and later a double- 
headed shot took it off about twenty feet above 
the deck. The maintopmast went early, and 



ii4 The American Navy 

the mainmast fell as the Constitution hauled 
off. The mizzenmast was shot out of the ship 
a few feet from the deck, and the bowsprit near 
the cap. Her hull was also greatly injured. 
The Constitution, on the other hand, did not 
lose a spar. She went into action with her royal 
yards across and came out of it with all three 
of them in the places; in fact she could have 
gone into action with another ship an hour later. 

After lying by his prize two or three days 
to remove all the prisoners, Captain Bainbridge 
had the Java blown up. The Constitution 
thereupon made sail for St. Salvador, where she 
paroled and landed her prisoners. On Feb- 
ruary 27th, Bainbridge arrived in Boston after 
a successful cruise of four months. Congress 
again voted medals for the Commander and 
officers of the Constitution, and Bainbridge, like 
his predecessor, Hull, was the hero of the hour 
in Boston. 

Soon after her arrival in Boston the Constitu- 
tion went to the Navy Yard for a thorough 
overhauling and, under the command of Captain 
Charles Stewart, the good old ship sailed on De- 
cember 18, 1814. On the 20th of February, while 
cruising in the neighborhood of Madeira, two 
sails were sighted. The nearest was the British 
frigate Cyane, 34, Captain Gordon Thomas Fal- 
con ; the other, the sloop-of-war Levant, 21, Cap- 
tain the Honorable George Douglas. At four 
o'clock the Cyane made sail to join her consort, 



Cruises of the " Constitution " 115 

and, meanwhile, the Constitution was bearing 
down upon them under studding-sails. She 
opened fire at five o'clock on the Cyane, but the 
shot fell short. The two British ships, mean- 
while, were in consultation, and endeavored to 
get to windward of the Constitution, with an 
evident intention of delaying the action until 
nightfall, when, under cover of the darkness, 
they might hope to cripple their antagonist. 

Failing, however, to outwind the Constitution, 
the British ships at six o'clock ran up red Eng- 
lish ensigns and formed in line with the wind 
on the starboard beam, the Levant ahead. The 
Constitution hoisted her colors five minutes later 
and opened the action by firing a shot between 
her two adversaries. Broadsides were at once 
exchanged and for fifteen minutes a very hot 
action was kept up. The sea was covered with 
a light mist, the moon came out, while dense 
masses of smoke hung to leeward of the com- 
batants. When it cleared away, the Constitu- 
tion was found abreast of the Levant with the 
Cyane luffing up astern to deliver a raking 
broadside. This was the crucial moment, but 
Stewart, splendid old seaman, grasped the oppor- 
tunity, delivered a tremendous broadside at 
short range into the Levant, then, hidden in the 
smoke of his own guns, braced the after sails 
aback, and as his ship gathered sternway, poured 
a heavy fire into the Cyane. 

As the Levant wore to come to the assistance 



n6 The American Navy 

of the Cyane, the Constitution's sails were again 
filled and, as she shot ahead, two broadsides were 
fired into the stern of the Levant as she came 
to the wind. At this juncture Captain Falcon, 
seeing the hazardous position of the Levant, 
gallantly stood in between the Constitution and 
his consort and the Levant drew out of the 
combat to repair damages. The Cyane then 
attempted to go off before the wind, but the Con- 
stitution wore short around and gave her a rak- 
ing fire over the stern, and as she luffed up and 
fired her port broadside, Stewart placed his ship 
within hail, on the port quarter of the Cyane, 
where she was practically at his mercy. Cap- 
tain Falcon then fired a lee gun and hoisted a 
light in token of surrender, just forty minutes 
after the first broadside had been fired. His 
ship was hulled a number of times between wind 
and water, five carronades had broken loose, her 
rigging was badly cut up, and the main- and 
mizzen-mast w T ere seriously injured. Lieutenant 
Hoffman was sent on board the prize with a 
small crew and her officers were removed to the 
Constitution. 

At 7.45 Captain Stewart filled away in pur- 
suit of the Levant which had been reeving new 
braces and repairing damages. At eight o'clock 
the ships passed each other and exchanged 
broadsides when the Constitution headed around 
her opponent's stern and raked her. Captain 
Douglas, now discovering for the first time that 



Cruises of the "Constitution" 117 

the Cyane had struck, attempted to escape; but 
it was too late. His wheel had been shot away 
by the last broadside and his lower masts were 
badly damaged, so after a chase of half an hour 
he surrendered. This ended the last great fight 
of the Constitution. 

The Constitution and her prizes were chased 
by a British squadron and the Levant was re- 
taken from her anchorage at Porto Praya, but 
the Cyane was brought safely into New York 
and was finally taken into our service. The 
arrival at New York of the Constitution, after 
her third successful contest with British ships- 
of-war, caused very general rejoicing, and Con- 
gress awarded Captain Stewart a sword of honor 
and a gold medal. The colors of the Cyane and 
Levant are still preserved as precious relics at 
the Naval Institute at Annapolis. 

The skilful manner in which Captain Stewart 
handled his ship in this engagement has been 
the subject of universal praise among nautical 
men. In a naval combat where one ship is en- 
gaging two, it is a most unusual thing for the 
single ship to avoid being raked by one or 
the other of her antagonists. But in this fight the 
Constitution was not once subjected to a raking 
fire, while, on the contrary, she repeatedly raked 
both of her antagonists, backing and filling in 
the smoke of battle and forcing the British ships 
down to leeward in a most brilliant series of 
manoeuvres. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE REMARKABLE CRUISE OF THE FRIGATE " ESSEX" 
AND HER CAPTURE IN VALPARAISO HARBOR 

ONE of the most romantic and eventful 
cruises ever undertaken by a single ship 
in the history of the American navy was that 
of the United States frigate Essex, 32, under the 
command of Captain David Porter, in the Pacific 
Ocean. 

The Essex was built in 1799 by subscriptions 
from the patriotic citizens of Salem, and was 
presented to the Government for the purpose 
of protecting American commerce and, in the 
language of the donors, " to chastise French in- 
solence and piracy." The good ship sailed for 
the Indian Ocean under command of Captain 
Edward Preble in December, 1799, and was the 
first United States vessel to double the Cape 
of Good Hope, as later, in 1813, she was the 
first of our naval ships to go around Cape Horn. 
From 1802 to 1805 the Essex took part in the 
operations against the Barbary Powers in the 
Mediterranean, under Captains Barron, Bain- 
bridge, Decatur, and Stewart, and in 1811 she 
was in Commodore Rodgers's squadron on our 
coast. 

Porter sailed July 2, 1812 on a cruise in 

n8 



The Cruise of the "Essex" 119 

search of the British frigate Thetis, 36, reported 
to be bound for South America with a large 
amount of specie. On July 10th, he encountered 
a fleet transporting a British regiment from 
Barbadoes to Quebec, under convoy of the frigate 
Minerva, 32, and he succeeded in cutting out 
one of the vessels, with one hundred and ninety- 
seven soldiers on board. On August 13th, he 
captured, after a brief engagement of eight min- 
utes, the British ship-sloop Alert, 18, which was 
the first capture of an English cruiser in the 
War of 1812. 

After taking the crew out of the Alert Porter 
now had five hundred prisoners on board the 
Essex, nearly double his own complement, and 
only by the vigilance of young Farragut, who 
was a midshipman on board, was an attempt to 
capture the ship prevented. Overhearing the 
discussion of the plot, while he feigned sleep 
in his hammock, Farragut informed the captain 
of what was going on and he at once gave the 
alarm of " Fire." The crew quickly rushed to 
quarters and the prisoners were secured. Porter 
then threw the Alert's guns overboard, made 
her a cartel and sent the British prisoners un- 
der parole to Nova Scotia. The Essex returned 
to the Delaware September 7th, after a cruise 
of sixty days, in which she had captured nine 
prizes, recaptured five American vessels, and had 
taken over five hundred prisoners. 

On October 28th the Essex sailed from the 



120 The American Navy 

Delaware and on December 11th captured the 
British packet Norton, ten guns, with $55,000 
specie on board. Later, while off Bahia, Porter 
was falsely informed that the Montague, 74, 
had raised the blockade of the Bonne Citoyenne 
and that the Constitution and Hornet had put 
to sea. Ignorant of the two brilliant victories 
of these latter vessels, he decided upon the dar- 
ing scheme of doubling the Horn and making 
a cruise in the Pacific, subsisting upon the 
enemy while he made an unexpected blow at 
British commerce in an ocean where they least 
expected to find a foe. 

The Essex rounded the Horn in February, 
1813, encountering severe gales, and at Valpa- 
raiso learned that Chile had declared her inde- 
pendence of Spain. Leaving this port in March, 
he captured the Peruvian cruiser Nevada, 15, 
which had lately taken as prize two American 
whalers, the Walker and the Barclay. Throw- 
ing the Peruvian's guns and ammunition over- 
board, Porter allowed him to go, with a warning 
against further depredations upon American 
vessels. After painting his ship, to resemble 
a Spanish merchantman, Porter resumed his 
cruise and, fortunately falling in with the 
Barclay, in charge of her Peruvian crew, he 
recaptured her, after an hour's chase, and put- 
ting her in charge of one of his officers, with 
a prize crew, ordered her to the Galapagos. 

On April 29th, he captured the British whaler 



The Cruise, of the " Essex" 121 

Montezuma with fourteen hundred barrels of 
sperm oil, and the same day, the wind having 
gone down, took the whalers Georgiana and 
Policy with his boats. On these last two vessels 
were a large number of impressed American 
sailors who gladly enlisted in the Essex. These 
three prizes, with their cargoes, were worth half 
a million dollars. As they were all armed, 
Porter transferred the guns from the Policy to 
the Georgiana, which was pierced for eighteen 
guns, thus giving her a battery of sixteen light 
guns, and fitted her out as a cruiser. Lieutenant 
John Downes, with forty-one men, was then sent 
on board the Georgiana, the American flag was 
hoisted at her peak, and she fired a salute of 
seventeen guns, which the Essex returned with 
nine guns, the first salutes ever fired by Ameri- 
can men-of-war in the South Pacific Ocean. 

On May 28th, while cruising near Charles 
Island, a sail was sighted to the northward and 
after chasing all day the Essex ran down and 
captured the British letter-of-marque Atlantic, 
eight eighteen-pounders. While taking posses- 
sion a sail was seen, and putting a midshipman 
and eleven men on board the Atlantic she was 
sent after the stranger, the Essex following. 
Night came on, but the chase was kept up 
until the vessel was overtaken and captured. 
She proved to be the British letter-of-marque 
Greenwich, which had sailed from England in 
convoy of the Java. 



122 The American Navy 

To the great satisfaction of Porter, abundant 
stores were found on board the new prize, in- 
cluding one hundred tons of fresh water, badly 
needed by the Essex, and also eight hundred 
large tortoises, which kept the American ships 
in fresh provisions for a month. There were 
also quantities of cordage, canvas, and paint, so 
that nothing was wanting for refitting the im- 
provised squadron, which now included the 
Essex, forty-six guns and two hundred and forty- 
five men ; Georgiana, sixteen guns and forty-two 
men ; Greenwich, ten guns and fourteen men ; 
Atlantic, six guns and twelve men; Montezuma, 
two guns and ten men; Policy, ten men, and 
Barclay, seven men, — in all, a fleet of seven 
ships, with eighty guns and three hundred and 
forty men, in addition to eighty prisoners, who 
were now becoming an incumbrance. 

Having now more ships and prisoners than 
he could well handle, Porter made sail for the 
mainland and on June 19th anchored in the 
river Tumbez. Lieutenant Downes, who was 
cruising offshore, captured a few days later the 
Catherine, eight guns and twenty-nine men, and 
the Rose, eight guns and twenty-one men. Send- 
ing twenty men and prize masters on board 
these vessels, left Downes with only twenty men 
and boys to guard the fifty prisoners. The same 
day he chased and captured the privateer Hector, 
eleven guns and twenty-five men, after a run- 
ning fight, in which the prize lost her maintop- 



The Cruise of the " Essex " 123 

mast and had two men killed and six wounded. 

Downes now found himself with three prizes 
on his hands and with but ten men in the ship 
to sail the Georgiana and guard seventy-three 
prisoners. So, taking a portion of the Rose's 
cargo out of her and throwing her guns over- 
board, he made her a cartel and, paroling his 
prisoners, he put them on board, directing them 
to make for St. Helena, while the Georgiana, 
with her two remaining prizes rejoined Porter 
at Tumbez on June 24th. 

Porter now promoted Lieutenant Downes to 
Master-Commandant, giving him command of 
the Atlantic, renamed the Essex Junior, with 
twenty guns and sixty men. The reorganized 
squadron sailed June 30, 1813, and on the fol- 
lowing Fourth of July the three larger vessels 
fired salutes of seventeen guns and, as Porter's 
journal says, " the day was passed in the utmost 
conviviality," which can be readily believed un- 
der the peculiarly happy conditions then exist- 
ing in the little squadron, so strangely brought 
together under the American flag in the Pacific 
Ocean. 

Five days later, Porter ordered Downes to con- 
voy the Hector, Policy, Catherine, Montezuma, 
and Barclay to Valparaiso. Midshipman Far- 
ragut, then twelve years of age, was ordered to 
the command of the Barclay, but, in considera- 
tion of his tender years, the former English 
master of the ship was sent in her, as a kind 



124 The American Navy 

of dry-nurse for the future distinguished Ad- 
miral of the American navy. 

After appointing a rendezvous for the Essex 
Junior, in September, Captain Porter in the 
Essex, with the Greenwich and Georgiana, made 
for the Galapagos Islands. On July 13th, three 
sail were sighted, and the American ships 
started in chase. The Essex with her two con- 
sorts overhauled and captured the Charlton, ten 
guns, the Seringapatam, fourteen guns and forty 
men, and the New Zealander, eight guns and 
twenty-three men. Porter stripped the Charl- 
ton of her armament, transferring her guns 
to the Seringapatam, and putting forty-eight 
paroled prisoners on board started this, his 
second cartel, for Rio de Janeiro. On the 25th, 
the Georgiana, with a full cargo of oil, was sent 
home, while the Essex, Greenwich, Seringapatam, 
and New Zealander made for the Albemarle 
Islands. August 4th, the fleet anchored off 
James's Island, and, after changing the appear- 
ance of his ships by his favorite device of re- 
painting them, Porter put into Banks Bay with 
his squadron. 

After a few days' rest the Essex again sailed 
on a cruise, this time alone. On the 15th of 
September, by keeping up the appearance of a 
whaler, with his royal-masts housed and ports 
closed, he was able to get within gunshot of a 
large British whaler, having a letter-of-marque, 
which he captured. This ship, the Sir Andrew 



The Cruise of the " Essex " 125 

Hammond, twelve guns and thirty-six men, 
had escaped from him in July after a long 
chase. 

But this pleasant game was to come to an 
end. The news of the successive captures of 
these British ships had reached home, as Porter 
learned upon his return to Banks Bay, where 
the Essex Junior joined him on her return from 
Valparaiso. Downes also brought the unwel- 
come news that several heavy English frigates 
were out in search of the Essex, and Porter de- 
termined to winter at Nukahiva, in the Mar- 
quesas Islands, where he could overhaul and 
refit his ships in safety. 

On the 23d of October, the Essex, Essex 
Junior, Seringapatam, Sir Andrew Hammond, 
and Greenwich anchored at Nukahiva. Here 
Porter landed, and in pursuance of his policy 
of capturing everything in sight, he took formal 
possession of the island in the name of the Gov- 
ernment of the United States, and gave it the 
name of Madison's Island. After erecting and 
arming a fort to command the bay, the Essex 
was stripped, her stores were landed, she was 
smoked out to free her of rats with which she 
was infested, and she was then thoroughly over- 
hauled and refitted. In December, having com- 
pleted fitting the Essex, Porter determined to 
go to sea in search of nobler game than he had 
yet encountered. Leaving the three prizes in 
the harbor, in charge of Midshipmen Feltus and 



126 The American Navy 

Clark, with a garrison of twenty men in the 
fort, under Lieutenant of Marines John M. 
Gamble, Porter sailed on December 12, 1813, in 
the Essex, in company with the Essex Junior, 
for the coast of South America. This was des- 
tined to be the close of one of the most remark- 
able cruises, in many respects, ever recorded in 
the naval history of any nation. 

The two vessels reached Valparaiso, February 
3d, where Porter learned that the British frigate 
Phoebe, 36, Captain James Hillyar, was on the 
coast looking for the Essex. On February 7th, 
a reception and ball was given on board the 
Essex for the officers and citizens of Valparaiso. 
The next morning the Essex Junior, which had 
been cruising outside, signalled, " Two enemy's 
ships in sight." At that time half the crew of 
the Essex were on shore on liberty, while the 
ship was still in disorder from the festivities of 
the previous night. 

Porter at once fired a gun and hoisted a recall 
for all boats and men, but before they were on 
board, the Phoebe, 3G, with the ship-sloop Cherub, 
18, Captain Tucker, entered the harbor. Cap- 
tain Hillyar, being informed by an English 
mate, who went off in a shore boat, that half 
of the crew of the Essex were on shore, ran in 
with the Phoebe, on the wind, and bore down 
for the Essex, both ships having their crews at 
quarters. As the Phoebe rounded the quarter 
of the Essex, she luffed up on the starboard 



The Cruise of the " Essex" 127 

bow of the American frigate, the two ships being 
within fifteen feet of each other. 

At this moment, Captain Hillyar, who had 
met Porter in the Mediterranean several years 
before, stood on an after-gun and said : " Cap- 
tain Hillyar's compliments to Captain Porter 
and hopes he is well." Porter replied from the 
quarter-deck : " Very well, I thank you, but I 
hope you will not come too near, for fear some 
accident might take place which would be dis- 
agreeable to you." Then, waving his trumpet, 
kedge anchors were at once run up at the yard- 
arms of the Essex, ready to grapple the Phoebe 
should she close. 

Captain Hillyar immediately braced his yards 
back, saying that if he fell aboard he begged 
to assure Captain Porter it would be entirely 
accidental. " Well," replied Porter, " you have 
no business where you are. If you touch a 
ropeyarn of this ship I shall board instantly." 
Then, hailing Lieutenant Downes, he told him 
to be prepared to repel the enemy. Upon this 
the Phoebe slowly backed astern, her yards pass- 
ing over those of the Essex without touching a 
rope, and she anchored half a mile astern. But 
in accomplishing this manoeuvre the English ship 
was directly exposed to a raking fire from the 
broadside of the Essex, while the Essex Junior 
could also have raked her under the stern. 

A day or two afterward Hillyar met Porter 
on shore and thanked him for his forbearance, 



128 The American Navy 

assuring him that lie need be under no appre- 
hension of his breaking the blockade. But there 
is every reason to suppose that he had expected 
to find the Essex unprepared and in a condition 
to be carried by boarding when he entered the 
harbor. 

For six weeks the two British ships stood 
guard over the Essex. Then Porter learned that 
several other British frigates were expected, and 
having little confidence in their respecting the 
neutrality of the port, he determined to put to 
sea. On the 28th of March the Essex parted 
her port cable in a heavy southerly gale and 
dragged her starboard anchor to sea. Finding 
the blockaders were close in to the western side 
of the bay, Captain Porter took in his top- 
gallantsails, set over single-reefed topsails, and 
braced up to pass to windward, but just as the 
Essex was rounding the Point of Angels a heavy 
squall struck her, and, before the topsail-yard 
could be got down, the maintopmast went over 
the side, carrying the men who were furling 
the topgallantsail overboard, where they were 
drowned. 

Porter wore round and ran into a small bay 
and anchored about three quarters of a mile 
from a one-gun battery and within pistol shot 
of the shore. 

The Phoebe and Cherub at once bore down 
upon the Essex as soon as Hillyar saw that 
Porter was disabled, and the Essex prepared for 



The Cruise of the " Essex " 129 

action, as it became evident that the English 
commander did not intend to keep his word. 
Flags were flying from every mast of the Essex 
and everything was made ready as far as pos- 
sible, but the attack was made before springs 
could be got on her cables. The American ship 
was anchored so near the shore as to preclude 
the possibility of Captain Hillyar's passing 
ahead of her; so the two English ships came 
cautiously down, the Cherub taking her position 
on the starboard bow of the Essex, and the 
Phoebe under her stern. The attack began at 
4 p.m. Some of the bow-guns of the American 
frigate bore upon the Cherub, and, as soon as 
she found this out, the sloop ran down and sta- 
tioned herself near the Phoebe. The latter had, 
meanwhile, opened with her broadside of long 
eighteens from a position in which not one of 
Porter's guns could reach her. Three times 
springs were got on the cables of the Essex in 
order to bring her round till her broadside bore, 
but in each instance they were most unfortu- 
nately shot away as soon as they were hauled 
taut. Three long twelves were then got out 
of the stern-ports of the Essex, and with these 
an animated fire was kept up on the two British 
ships, Porter's intent being especially to cripple 
their rigging. A good many of the American 
crew were killed during the first five minutes, 
before the Essex could bring any guns to bear; 
but afterwards she did not suffer much, and at 



i3° The American Navy 

4.20, after a quarter of an hour's fight between 
the three long twelves of the Essex and the 
whole thirty-six broadside guns of the Phoebe 
and Cherub, the latter were actually driven off. 
The British ships wore and again began with 
their long guns; but, these producing no visible 
effect, both of the British ships hauled out of 
the fight at 4.30 p.m. But their damages were 
soon repaired, and the two ships stood back 
again for the crippled foe, determined to end 
the affray. Both stationed themselves on her 
port quarter, the Phoebe at anchor, with a 
spring, firing her broadside, while the Cherub 
kept under way, using her long bow-chasers as 
she could bring them into play effectively. Their 
fire was very destructive, for they were out of 
reach of the Essex's carronades, and not one 
of her long guns could be brought to bear on 
them. At 5.20 Porter cut his cable, and tried 
to close with his antagonists. After many in- 
effectual efforts sail was made. The flying-jib 
halliards was the only serviceable rope on the 
Essex uncut. That sail was hoisted and the 
foretopsail was let fall, though the want of 
sheets and tacks rendered both sails almost use- 
less. Still, the Essex, under this short canvas, 
drove down on her assailants, and for the first 
time got near enough to use her carronades. 
For a minute or two thereafter the firing was 
tremendous, but after the first broadside the 
Cherub hauled out of the fight in great haste, 




JOHNSTON BLAKELY 

From the painting by Gimbrede 



The Cruise of the " Essex" 13 1 

and during the remainder of the action she con- 
fined herself to using her bow-guns from a dis- 
tance. Immediately afterward, the Phoebe also 
discreetly edged off, and opened from her long 
eighteens, out of range of Porter's carronades. 

The carnage on board the Essex had now made 
her decks look like shambles. One gun was 
manned three times, fifteen men being slain at 
it, its captain alone escaping without a wound. 
There were but one or two instances of flinch- 
ing; the wounded, many of whom were killed 
by flying splinters, while under the hands of 
the doctors, cheered on their comrades, and 
themselves worked at the guns like fiends as 
long as they could stand. At one of the bow-guns 
was stationed a young Scotchman, named Bissly, 
who had one leg shot off close by the groin. 
Using his handkerchief as a tourniquet, he said, 
turning to his American shipmates : " I left my 
own country and adopted the United States to 
fight for her. I hope I have this day proved 
myself worthy of the country of my adoption. 
I am no longer of any use to you or to her, 
so good-bye ! " With these words he leaned on 
the sill of the port and threw himself over- 
board. Lieutenant J. G. Cowell had his leg 
shot off above the knee, and his life might 
have been saved had it been amputated at once; 
but the surgeons already had rows of wounded 
men waiting for them, and when it was proposed 
to him that he should be attended to, out of 



13 2 The American Navy 

order, he replied : " No, doctor, none of that ; 
fair play 's a jewel. One man's life is as dear 
as another's; I would not cheat any poor fellow 
out of his turn." So he stayed at his post and 
died from loss of blood. 

Finding it hopeless to try to close with his 
antagonists, the Essex now stood for the land, 
Porter intending to run his ship ashore and 
burn her. But the Fates were against him, for 
when she had drifted close to the bluffs, the 
wind suddenly shifted, took her flat aback, and 
paid her head inshore, exposing her to a raking 
fire. At this moment Lieutenant Downes, com- 
manding the Essex Junior, pulled out of the 
harbor in a boat, through all the fire, to see if 
he could be of any assistance to his commander. 
Three of the men with him, including an old 
boatswain's mate, named Kingsbury, had come 
out, as they said, expressly " to share the fate 
of their old ship"; so they remained aboard the 
Essex, and, in their places, Lieutenant Downes 
took some of the wounded ashore, while the 
Cherub kept up a tremendous fire upon him. A 
shift of the wind gave Porter a faint hope of 
closing, and once more the riddled hulk of the 
gallant little American frigate was headed 
toward her foes. But Hillyar, determined to 
take no chances, put his helm up to avoid close 
quarters. The battle was his already, and the 
cool old captain was too shrewd an officer to 
leave anything to chance. Finding that he 



The Cruise of the " Essex " 133 

could not close, Porter had a hawser bent on 
the sheet-anchor and let it go. This brought 
the ship's head round, keeping her stationary; 
and from such of her guns as were not dis- 
mounted and had men enough left to man them, 
a broadside was fired at the Phoebe. 

To add to the chances against her, the Essex 
now caught fire; the flames came bursting up 
the hatchway, and a quantity of powder ex- 
ploded below. Many of the crew were knocked 
overboard by the explosion and drowned ; others, 
thinking the ship was about to blow up, leaped 
into the sea and tried to swim to land. The 
frigate had been shattered to pieces above the 
water-line, although, from the smoothness of 
the sea, she was not harmed enough below to 
reduce her to a sinking condition. The car- 
penter reported that he alone of his crew was 
fit for duty; the others were dead or disabled. 
Lieutenant Wilmer was knocked overboard by 
a splinter and drowned; his little negro boy, 
" Kuff," came up on deck, and, hearing of the 
disaster, deliberately leaped into the water and 
shared his master's fate. Lieutenant Oden- 
heimer was also knocked overboard, but after- 
ward regained the ship. A shot, glancing 
upward, killed four of the men who were stand- 
ing by a gun, striking the last one in the head 
and scattering his brains over his comrades. 
The only commissioned officer left on duty was 
Lieutenant Decatur McKnight. The sailing- 



134 The American Navy 

master, Barnwell, although terribly wounded, 
remained at his post until he fainted from loss 
of blood. 

Of the two hundred and fifty-five men 
aboard the Essex when the battle began, fifty- 
eight had been killed, sixty-six wounded, and 
thirty-one drowned ("missing"), w T hile twenty- 
four had succeeded in reaching shore. But 
seventy-six men were left unwounded, and many 
of these had been bruised or otherwise injured. 

It was evident that nothing now remained to 
be done, and at 6.20 the Essex surrendered and 
was taken possession of, after one of the most 
sanguinary and gallantly contested battles in 
naval history. The Phoebe had lost four men 
killed, including her first lieutenant, William 
Ingram, and seven wounded; the Cherub, one 
killed, and three, including Captain Tucker, 
wounded. Total, in both ships, five killed and 
ten wounded. This difference in loss was nat- 
ural, as, owing to their having long guns and 
the choice of position, the British had been able 
to fire ten shots to the Americans' one. 

This spectacular engagement had been wit- 
nessed by thousands of spectators who crowded 
the shore. The ships were so near the land that 
at one time several of the Phoebe's shot struck 
the beach. During the action, Mr. Poinsett, the 
American consul, made formal protest to the 
governor against this breach of neutrality and 
demanded the protection of the batteries for the 




DAVID PORTER 

From an engraving of the painting by J. Wood 



The Cruise of the " Essex" 135 

Essex. But to this reasonable request he re- 
ceived an evasive reply. 

Captain Porter now entered into an arrange- 
ment with Captain Hillyar, under the provisions 
of which the Essex Junior was converted into a 
cartel, and a passport was given, by means of 
which all the survivors of the Essex came home. 
Thus terminated this most enterprising and 
singular cruise, its end proving as disastrous as 
its commencement had been fortunate. 

Farragut, then thirteen years of age, was a 
midshipman on board the Essex during the fight 
and a very dramatic account of it is given in 
his journal. The young man says in criticism: 

In the first place I consider that our original 
and greatest error was in attempting to regain the 
anchorage; as being greatly superior to the enemy 
in sailing qualities I think we should have borne 
up and ran before the wind. If we had come in 
contact with the Phoebe, we should have carried 
her by boarding; if she avoided us, as she might 
have done by her greater ability to manoeuvre, then 
we could have taken her fire and passed on, leav- 
ing both vessels behind until we replaced our top- 
mast, by which time they would have separated, as, 
unless they did so, it would have been no chase, the 
Cherub being a very dull sailer. [He adds:] If 
these were not my reflections at the time, it was 
because I had always been in the habit of relying 
on the judgment of others ; but they have certainly 
been my opinions as far back as I can remember 
to have thought on the subject. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE " WASP " AND HER CONTESTS WITH THE 
"FROLIC" AND THE " REINDEER " AND " AVON." 
CAPTURE OF THE TENDER OF THE " HEBRUS " 

A BRISK combat — or, as Admiral Farragut 
would have styled it, "one of the little 
elegancies of the profession " — was the fight in 
the War of 1812 between the United States ship- 
sloop Wasp and the British brig-of-war Frolic, 
which resulted in her capture by the American 
cruiser. 

The Wasp, 18, Captain Jacob Jones, with one 
hundred and thirty-eight men, left the Delaware 
on November 13, 1812, and ran off southeast, to 
get into the track of the West India traders. 
Encountering a heavy gale the next day she lost 
her jib-boom and two men who were upon it. 
On the 17th, the weather having moderated, she 
sighted several sails which proved to be part 
of a convoy of merchantmen from Honduras 
bound for England, under convoy of the Frolic, 
19, Captain Thomas Whingates. 

In the gale of the 16th, in which the Wasp 

had lost her jib-boom, the Frolic also lost her 

main-yard and both vessels had passed the next 

two days in repairing damages. On the 18th 

136 



The "Wasp" and her Contests 137 

the Wasp sent down topgallant-yards, close 
reefed her topsails and bore down for tbe Frolic 
under sbort figbting canvas. Tbe Frolic lasbed 
ber damaged yard on deck and bauled by the 
wind under ber boom mainsail and close reefed 
foretop-sail, hoisting Spanish colors, to decoy her 
adversary and to permit her convoy to escape. 
By 11.30 a.m. the ships were close together, run- 
ning on tbe starboard tack, parallel and not 
more than sixty yards apart, and the firing be- 
gan, the Wasp from her port, and the Frolic 
from her starboard battery. Tbe fire of tbe 
Englishmen was very rapid, they delivering 
three broadsides to the Wasp's two, both crews 
cheering loudly as the ships plunged and wal- 
lowed through the water. There was a heavy 
sea running, left by the late gale, which caused 
tbe vessels to roll and pitch severely. The 
Americans fired as their port side was going 
down, aiming at the Frolic's hull, while the 
English fired on the upward roll, their shot 
going high. 

The spray flew in clouds over both vessels, 
which rolled the muzzles of their guns under 
water, but in spite of this, the firing was spirited 
and, in the main, well directed. In five minutes 
tbe Wasp's maintop-mast was shot away and it 
fell across the port fore and foretop-sail braces, 
thus rendering ber bead yards unmanageable. 
Ten minutes later her gaff and mizzentop-gallant 
mast came down, and by twelve o'clock every 



138 The American Navy 

brace, and most of lier rigging was shot away, 
so that it was actually impossible to brace her 
yards. 

But, meanwhile, the Frolic, in turn, had suf- 
fered dreadfully in her hull and lower masts, 
and her gaff and head braces were also shot 
away. The slaughter among her crew was also 
very great, but the survivors still kept at their 
guns with dogged courage. At first the two ves- 
sels ran side by side, but the Wasp gradually 
forged ahead, until her bends rubbed against 
her antagonist's bows. Here the vessels came 
foul, the Frolic's bowsprit coming in over the 
quarter-deck of the Wasp and passing over the 
heads of Captain Jones and Lieutenant Biddle, 
who were standing by the capstan. This forced 
her bows up into the wind and enabled the 
Americans to throw in a close and devastating 
raking fire that swept the deck of their adversary. 

The impetuosity of the Wasp's crew could 
now no longer be restrained; Jack Land, a sea- 
man from New Jersey, leaped on the Frolic's 
bowsprit. Lieutenant Biddle then mounted the 
hammock-netting to board, but got his feet en- 
tangled in some rigging, and one of the midship- 
men seizing his coat-tails to help himself up, the 
lieutenant tumbled back on the deck. As the 
ship rose to the next swell Biddle succeeded, 
however, in getting on the Frolic's bowsprit, on 
which were already one or two seamen of his 
own ship, but, to their surprise, no one was 



The " Wasp " and her Contests 139 

found to oppose them. A terrible spectacle was 
presented to the victors. Scarcely any of the 
English crew were standing: a lieutenant, bleed- 
ing from many wounds, was leaning against the 
companion-way and a sorely wounded quarter- 
master clung to the wheel. Every living officer 
on board was wounded and two were dead. The 
decks were strewn with dead and dying, and 
the water that washed from side to side across 
the deck, as the brig rolled, was dyed with 
blood. 

The victorious Americans pushed their way 
through the dead and wounded to the quarter- 
deck, where the surviving officers dropped their 
swords in submission, as Lieutenant Biddle him- 
self hauled down the British flag at a quar- 
ter past 12 — just forty-three minutes after the 
action commenced. The Frolic's masts went by 
the board almost immediately after. 

The Frolic's total loss was over ninety; thirty 
being killed outright. The Wasp had five men 
killed and five wounded. 

The Frolic had scarcely been taken possession 
of when a large sail was seen standing toward 
the scene of combat. Instructions were at once 
given Lieutenant Biddle to make the best of his 
way to Charleston with the prize and the Wasp 
began to make sail, with the intention of con- 
tinuing her cruise, but on loosening her sails 
and turning out the reefs from her topsails they 
were found to be nearly in ribbons cut by the 



140 The American Navy 

shot of the enemy, and she was thus prevented 
from making her escape. The stranger, who 
proved to be H. B. M. Poictiers, 74, hove a shot 
over the Frolic, in passing, and ranging up near 
the Wasp, both vessels were captured. They 
were taken into Bermuda and Captain Jones 
and his crew were paroled and soon after 
returned home. 

On May 1, 1814, the new Wasp sailed from 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, under command of 
Captain Johnston Blakely, on a cruise. She ran 
off the coast without molestation, keeping to the 
eastward, until, on June 28th, at quarter past 
4 a.m., being then in the chops of the English 
Channel, she sighted two sails a little forward 
of the lee beam. 

The weather was fine, the wind light, and the 
sea exceedingly smooth. While keeping away in 
the chase, another sail was sighted on the weather 
beam, and Captain Blakely brought his ship 
up to the wind to close with this most weatherly 
of his antagonists. 

At 10, the chase showed English colors and 
began to signal. At noon she repeated her 
signals and fired a gun. At 1.15 P.M V Captain 
Blakely, believing he could weather the chase, 
tacked. The Englishman also tacked, and stood 
off manoeuvring for the weather-gage. The 
Wasp now fired a gun to windward and showed 
her ensign, and the enemy, a large man-of-war 
brig, accepted the defiance, and at 2.32 p.m. 




ADMIRAL DAVID GLASGOW FARRAGUT, U.S.N. 
From a nhntncrranh faV#»n in *M*»w OrlMnc in iSfi 



The "Wasp " and her Contests 141 

tacked and hauled down her staysails as the 
Wasp took in her light sails. 

At 2.50 Captain Blakely, seeing that his oppo- 
nent would weather him, made another tack, 
while the Englishman ran up his flying jib to 
close, and crept down on the weather quarter 
of the American, about sixty yards distant, firing 
his forecastle gun five times into the Wasp before 
she could bring a gun to bear. 

This galling fire for eleven minutes, from a 
twelve-pounder loaded with round and grape at 
such short range, was borne by the crew of the 
Wasp with the utmost steadiness and subordina- 
tion. The men stood quietly to their guns until 
they could be brought to bear and then served 
them with a vigor that was shown in the wreck 
they made of their enemy. 

The British captain made a most gallant fight 
from first to last, and his approach on the 
Wasp's quarter was a very excellent piece of 
seamanship, but fate and the odds were against 
him. As the English brig drew ahead, Captain 
Blakely put his helm down and, luffing up, made 
a half-board, firing from aft forward as his guns 
bore. As the water was smooth and the fire 
was deliberate, every shot told with terrible 
effect. 

The enemy now kept away, running the Wasp 
aboard on her starboard quarter at 3.40, the 
vessels fouling. The English crew, led by their 
commander, who fell dead in the attempt, made 



142 The American Navy 

several determined attempts to board, but were 
each time repulsed with the utmost steadiness. 
At 3.44 Captain Blakely gave the order to board, 
when his men quickly sprang into the rigging 
of the English brig with loud shouts, and within 
one minute after they reached her deck the 
British ensign was lowered, the action having 
lasted but nineteen minutes after the Wasp fired 
her first gun, or twenty-eight minutes from the 
time the English ship opened the engagement. 
The only unwounded officer left to surrender the 
vessel was a master's mate. 

The prize proved to be H. B. M. brig sloop-of- 
war Reindeer, Captain William Manners, mount- 
ing eighteen twenty-four-pound carronades and 
one bow gun, with a complement of one hun- 
dred and eighteen men. Her loss was twenty- 
five killed, including Captain Manners, and 
forty-two wounded, among these the first lieu- 
tenant and master. The Wasp had five killed 
and twenty-two wounded, including two mid- 
shipmen, who subsequently died. 

The Reindeer was literally cut to pieces in a 
line with her ports, her upper works, boats, and 
spare spars being one entire wreck, and when 
the breeze sprang up the next day her foremast 
fell. As the British ship was so seriously dam- 
aged Captain Blakely burned her, and after 
putting a portion of his wounded prisoners on 
board a neutral vessel proceeded to L'Orient 
with the Wasp, reaching that port on July 8th. 



The "Wasp" and her Contests 143 

Captain Blakely remained in port refitting 
until the 27tli of August, when he sailed for 
another cruise. Within two days he captured 
two prizes, and on September 1st cut out a 
vessel loaded with guns and military stores from 
a fleet of ten sail of merchantmen convoyed by 
the Armada, 74. In attempting to seize another 
he was chased away by the enemy. 

That same evening, while running free, four 
sails were sighted, two on the larboard and two 
on the starboard bow. The Wasp was hauled 
up for the most weatherly of the four, and at 
7 p.m. the chase began signalling with flags, lan- 
terns, rockets, and guns. Blakely paid no at- 
tention to these, but kept his course, and by 
9.20 he had the enemy on his lee bow within 
hail, and ordered her to heave to, which she 
declined to do. The Wasp then fired a gun at 
her. The shot was at once returned, when 
Blakely put his helm up and passed to leeward 
to prevent the enemy from escaping, both vessels 
hailing. 

At 9.29 the Wasp ranged up alongside and 
opened the engagement with a broadside, and 
the firing was continued at close range with 
great severity, although the darkness was in- 
tense and a heavy swell was running. At ten 
the fire of the enemy had ceased, and Captain 
Blakely hailed to learn if she had surrendered. 
But as no reply was given and a few more guns 
were fired from the English ship, the Wasp 



144 The American Navy 

poured in another broadside and the enemy's 
mainmast went by the board. 

At 10.12, as there was no response to his guns, 
Captain Blakely hailed again and asked if she 
had surrendered, and was answered in the af- 
firmative. The Wasp's boat was then lowered 
to take possession, but as she struck the water 
another vessel was seen coming up fast astern 
and the boat was at once rehoisted and the crew 
were sent back to their guns. At 10.36 two more 
sails were sighted astern and it became neces- 
sary to abandon the prize. 

Captain Blakely ran his ship dead off before 
the wind, in order to reeve new braces in place 
of those shot away, trusting to induce one of 
the strangers to follow where he could try con- 
clusions with him apart from his consorts. But 
as the British vessel got within range of the 
Wasp she hauled her wind across the American's 
stern and fired a broadside, but then as the 
Wasp's first antagonist was firing guns of dis- 
tress she abandoned the chase and returned to 
her crippled friend. 

It was afterward learned that the defeated 
vessel was H. B. M. brig Avon, 18, Captain the 
Hon. James Arbuthnot. The brig that followed 
the Wasp was the Castilian, 18, and one of the 
other vessels in sight was H. B. M. Tartarus, 
20. The Avon was so much cut up that she 
sunk, her crew being saved by the Castilian with 
great difficulty. The Avon's loss was from 




ISAAC CHAUNCEY 
From an engraving of the painting by J. Wood 



The "Wasp" and her Contests 145 

thirty to fifty. The Wasp had only two killed 
and one wounded. 

On September 12th, the Wasp took the brig 
Three Brothers, and on the 14th, the brig 
Bacchus. Both these vessels were scuttled, and 
on the 21st, in latitude 33° 12' N., longitude 
14° 56' W., near the Azores, she took the brig 
Atlanta, 8. 

As this was a valuable prize, Midshipman 
Geisinger was sent home in charge of her, and 
she arrived safely in Savannah, November 4th, 
bringing the last direct intelligence ever received 
of the Wasp. 

Some time afterward it was learned from the 
master of the Swedish brig Adonis that on 
October 9, 1814, he was chased by a ship and 
later boarded by a boat from the U. S. S. Wasp 
in latitude 18° 35' N., longitude 30° 10' W. The 
Swede had on board as passengers Acting- 
Lieutenant McKnight and Master's Mate Lynn, 
both of the Essex, who had been exchanged 
at Valparaiso by Captain Hillyar. These gen- 
tlemen were transferred to the Wasp at their 
own request and the vessels parted. This was 
sixteen days after Mr. Geisinger left the Wasp, 
and is the last that was ever heard of the gallant 
little vessel. 

During the forty days the saucy little Wasp 
was cruising in the English Channel, from June 
2d to July 6th, and from August 30th to Sep- 
tember 1st, she captured and destroyed one 



146 The American Navy 

ship, one bark, one galliot, six brigs, and one 
schooner, beside burning and sinking two British 
man-of-war brigs; and from September 1st to 
the 21st she destroyed two brigs and sent one 
home as a prize. And this sharp work was 
actually done while the English Channel was 
patrolled by a British fleet numbering thirty-five 
ships of various sizes, mounting over one thou- 
sand guns. 

CAPTURE OP THE TENDER OF THE BRITISH FRIGATE 
" HEBRUS " 

A dashing little affair was the capture of the 
tender of the British frigate Hebrus in January, 
1815. Captain Dent, who was in command at 
Charleston, South Carolina, obtained informa- 
tion that a party of officers and men belonging 
to the Hebrus, Captain Palmer, were watering 
at one of the islands in the vicinity and he 
directed Lieutenant Lawrence Kearney to pro- 
ceed outside with three barges to cut them off, 
while a party of militia endeavored to assail 
them by land. The frigate was at anchor out- 
side, out of gun-shot, but as soon as she per- 
ceived the design of the Americans, she fired 
guns and made other signals of recall, when two 
of the boats pulled toward her, and a tender, 
that contained a strong party, attempted to run 
out also. 

Fortunately the wind shifted, bringing the 
Hebrus to windward of the American barges, 



The "Wasp " and her Contests 147 

but the tender was still to leeward of them. 
Discovering his advantage, Lieutenant Kearney 
determined to make a dash at the latter, re- 
gardless of the frigate and of the two boats that 
were pulling off. The Hebrus, perceiving the 
danger in which her tender was now placed, 
made the greatest exertions to save her. Shots 
were fired at her own cutters to drive them back 
to the assistance of the tender, and a third boat 
was sent from the frigate with the same object. 
The frigate also opened fire on the American 
barges with much effect, one shot taking off the 
head of a man at Lieutenant Kearney's side. 
But this gallant officer, disregarding everything 
but his object, laid the tender aboard in the 
steadiest manner, and carried her off directly 
under the guns of the frigate to which she be- 
longed. The Hebrus 's launch was also taken, 
her people having hurried on board the tender 
when the alarm was given. The tender had a 
carronade and six brass swivels in her, beside 
small arms. The prisoners captured numbered 
forty. 

A few days later Lieutenant Kearney, with 
twenty-five men in the launch captured from the 
Hebrus, went out and captured another tender, 
belonging to the frigate Severn, with a crew of 
thirty or forty men. Lieutenant Kearney was 
later in command of the Enterprise in the 
Mediterranean squadron, 1816-1819. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE " HORNET " CAPTURES THE BRITISH SHIPS 
" PEACOCK " AND " PENGUIN " AND THE " PEA- 
COCK" CAPTURES THE "EPERVIER." CAPTURE 
OF "MACEDONIAN" BY THE "UNITED STATES." 

THE Constitution and Hornet, the latter un- 
der the command of Captain James Law- 
rence, sailed from the United States in October, 
1812, and on February 21, 1813, while off the 
mouth of the Demerara River, a brig was sighted 
to leeward and the Hornet started in shore, in 
chase, until she found herself in less than five 
fathoms of water. The chase showing English 
colors, and having all the appearances of a vessel- 
of-war, Lawrence determined to attack her. 
While beating around the Carabana bank, which 
lay between the Hornet and the strange brig, 
another sail was made on the weather quarter, 
evidently edging down on the Hornet. Law- 
rence, however, continued working to windward 
in pursuit of his first chase until 4.20 p.m., when 
the second vessel showed English colors and was 
made out to be a large man-of-war brig. 

The Hornet was at once cleared for action 
and the crew went to quarters, the ship being 

kept close to the wind to gain the weather-gage, 

148 



" Hornet" Captures British Ships 149 

the enemy running free. At 5.10, feeling as- 
sured that he could weather the Englishman, 
Captain Lawrence broke out his colors and 
tacked. The two vessels were now standing 
toward each other, both close by the wind, the 
Hornet on the starboard and the enemy on the 
port tack. At 5.25 they passed each other 
within half pistol-shot, delivering the fire of 
their batteries as the guns bore. The English- 
man suffered severely in the hull from this first 
fire, while the Hornet was untouched, save aloft, 
where one man was killed in the mizzen-top by 
a round shot, two were wounded in the maintop, 
and, strange to say, the pennant of the ship was 
cut off by a deflected shot. 

As the Englishman cleared the Hornet's stern 
he put his helm hard up, intending to wear short 
round and rake with his starboard guns, but 
Lawrence saw the manoeuvre, and immediately 
imitated it, bringing the Hornet down on the 
enemy's quarter where she closed, pouring in 
such a terrific fire that the English captain was 
killed, with many of his crew, and within four- 
teen minutes after the first shot, the enemy not 
only lowered his ensign, but at once hoisted it 
in the fore rigging as a signal of distress, and 
at 5.40 his mainmast fell. 

Lieutenant J. T. Shubrick, who was sent on 
board to take possession, soon returned with the 
information that the prize was H. B. M. sloop-of- 
war Peacock, 20, Captain Peake, and that she 



150 The American Navy 

was fast sinking, having already six feet of 
water in her hold. Lawrence at once anchored 
and despatched his third lieutenant and a mid- 
shipman with boats to take out the wounded, 
with orders to anchor the prize, and, if possible, 
to save the vessel. Every exertion was made to 
that end: the Peacock's guns were thrown over- 
board, the shotholes at the water line were 
plugged, the pumps rigged, and recourse was 
even had to bailing. But all efforts to save the 
prize were of no avail, for suddenly the brig 
lurched and then settled, in five and a half 
fathoms of water, carrying down with her three 
of the Hornet's and nine of the Peacock's crew, 
who were below. As her masts remained above 
water four of the English sailors saved their 
lives by running into the foretop. The launch 
floated from the Peacock's deck as she went down 
and a number of men scrambled into the boat 
and, having no oars, were forced to paddle with 
pieces of boards toward the Hornet until they 
were taken off by her cutters. 

In this brief engagement the captain of the 
Peacock and seven men were killed and thirty- 
three were wounded. The Hornet had but three 
wounded, and by nine o'clock that night, new 
sails were bent, the ship cleared and she was 
ready for action if the brig inshore, the Es- 
piegle, 18, had decided to come out and attack 
her. Finding that he had one hundred and 
forty-seven prisoners on board, a number greater 



''Hornet" Captures British Ships 151 

than that of his own crew, and his water and 
stores running short, Lawrence decided to re- 
turn to New York, where he was warmly re- 
ceived and Congress granted him a medal and 
a sword of honor. He was promoted to post 
captain and by sad mischance was ordered to 
the command of the ill-fated Chesapeake. 

In March, 1815, the U. S. S. Hornet, then 
under the command of Captain James Biddle, 
while off the island of Tristan d'Acunha, 
sighted a vessel which proved to be the British 
brig-sloop-of-war Penguin, 19, Captain Dicken- 
son. She was new the previous September and 
carried one hundred and thirty-two men. As 
she was looking for American privateers she 
approached the Hornet head on to conceal her 
broadside battery. When the strange sail was 
sighted from aloft Captain Biddle was just clew- 
ing up her top-sails, but he at once sheeted them 
home and made all sail to the westward in chase. 
The wind was fresh and the Penguin was to 
windward, but without manoeuvring the Hornet 
hove to, to allow her antagonist to close, then 
filled her maintop-sail and yawed, wearing occa- 
sionally to prevent being raked. 

At 1.41 being within musket-shot, the Penguin 
hauled to the wind on the starboard tack, hoisted 
a St. George ensign, and fired a gun. Upon this 
challenge the Hornet luffed upon the same tack, 
broke out her flag, and the action began with 
heavy broadsides. The two vessels kept up a 



152 The American Navy- 

very sharp fire for fifteen minutes, gradually 
closing, until Captain Dickenson put his helm 
up and ran the Hornet aboard on the starboard 
side, the Penguin's bowsprit coming in between 
the main and mizzen-rigging of the American 
and projecting over her deck. 

As the ships closed Captain Dickenson fell, 
mortally wounded, but Lieutenant McDonald 
made a gallant effort to lead his men on board 
the Hornet, an effort that failed through the 
unwillingness of the British sailors to follow 
their brave leader. " We tried," said McDonald 
afterward, " but found the men rather backward 
and so, you know, we concluded to give it up." 
The American crew had been called to repel 
boarders, but, finding no opponents, they were 
preparing, in their turn, to board the Penguin, 
when they were recalled by Captain Biddle. A 
heavy sea was running and as the Hornet forged 
ahead the Penguin's bowsprit carried away her 
mizzen-shrouds, stern davits, and spanker-boom, 
and she swung around on the American's port 
quarter, where neither ship could bring her 
broadside guns to bear. Afterward the Pen- 
guin's foremast fell on board the Hornet, 
covering her port guns so they could not be 
used. 

Captain Biddle now wore his ship round to 
bring the starboard battery into play, when one 
of the English officers called out something 
which Biddle understood to be " surrender " and 



11 Hornet" Captures British Ships 153 

directing his marines to cease firing he jumped 
up on the taffrail. At that moment two marines 
on the Penguin's forecastle, not thirty feet dis- 
tant, fired at the American captain, one of the 
balls inflicting a severe wound in the neck. An 
immediate volley of musketry from the Hornet 
killed both the marines, and as the ship drew 
ahead, the Penguin's foremast went overboard, 
breaking her bowsprit short off. The Hornet 
at once wore, bringing a fresh broadside to bear, 
and at 2.02, as she rounded to, a score of men 
sprung up on the forecastle of the Penguin, hold- 
ing up their hands and shouting that they had 
struck. This was twenty-two minutes after the 
first gun was fired. 

The Penguin's hull was riddled, her fore-mast 
and bowsprit gone, her main-mast tottering and 
most of her starboard guns dismounted, while 
she had lost one third of her men, fourteen killed 
and twenty-eight wounded, or forty-two in all. 
The officers of the Penguin said that during the 
action a thirty-two-pound shot came in through 
their larboard after port, carried away six legs, 
killed the powder-boy of the division, capsized 
the opposite gun on the starboard side and 
passed through the port into the sea. The 
Hornet had not been struck by a single round 
shot in the hull, nor was a mast or spar mate- 
rially injured, although her rigging was a good 
deal cut up. Her loss was two killed and nine 
wounded. The Penguin was so cut up that, 



154 The American Navy 

after taking out her stores, Captain Biddle 
ordered her to be destroyed. 

That day the U. S. Peacock and Tom Bowline 
joined company with the Hornet, and the prison- 
ers from the Penguin were sent to Rio de Janeiro 
in the Tom Bowline as a cartel, while the other 
two ships continued their cruise to the East 
Indies. On April 27th they were chased by the 
British seventy-four-gun ship Comwallis. The 
Peacock being a swift ship easily escaped, but 
the Hornet was pursued for two days, mean- 
while throwing overboard her launch, anchors 
and cable, spare spars, and everything about 
the decks, cutting away her top-gallant fore-castle 
and finally in the effort to escape casting into 
the sea all her guns but one. The shot from 
the Cornicallis's bow chasers were flying about the 
Hornet, fortunately but three striking her, but 
the gallant Biddle held on until about 2 p.m. 
on the second day the breeze freshened and 
worked to the westward, bringing the Hornet 
more to windward, when she began to draw away 
from her pursuer and by half-past 9 that night 
the Comwallis abandoned the chase and the poor 
little Hornet — or what was left of her — escaped. 
In sorry case indeed, with but one gun, and 
neither anchor, cable nor boat, the proud victor 
over the Peacock and the Penguin made the 
best of her way to St. Salvador, where Captain 
Biddle heard the news of peace between Great 
Britain and the United States, and, after re- 




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"Hornet" Captures British Ships 155 

fitting, sailed for New York, having fought and 
won the last regular action of the war at sea. 

Upon his arrival Commander Biddle learned 
that he had been promoted to post captain while 
at sea. The citizens of New York gave him a 
state dinner, his native city, Philadelphia, pre- 
sented him with a service of plate, and Congress 
awarded him a gold medal. 

The Peacock, 18, Captain Warrington, went 
to sea from New York in March, 1814, and while 
cruising along the Florida shore on April 29th, 
three sails were made to windward under con- 
voy of a large brig-of-war, which edged away 
for the American ship, covering her convoy, 
meanwhile. The two vessels were soon within 
range and a close action commenced. The 
enemy, as usual, fired high and the Peacock re- 
ceived two thirty-two-pound shot in the quarter 
of her fore-yard from the first broadside of the 
enemy, which rendered her head sails nearly 
useless. This injury compelled the Peacock to 
fight running large and prevented much manoeu- 
vring on her part, the combat being decided 
eventually entirely by gunnery, which was so 
strikingly effectual that at the end of forty-two 
minutes the enemy struck. The prize proved 
to be H. B. M. brig Epervier, 18, Captain Wales. 

She was very badly injured, having received 
forty-five shots in her hull, and she had twenty- 
two killed and wounded. Her maintop-mast was 
over the side, her main boom was shot away, 



156 The American Navy 

her foremast was tottering, her bowsprit badly 
wounded, standing rigging much cut, and she 
had five feet of water in her hold. The Peacock 
received very little injury, that done to her fore- 
yard excepted, while her hull escaped entirely, 
not a round shot touching it. She had no person 
killed and only two wounded. In one hour after 
the retreat from quarters was beat the Peacock 
had her fore-yard fished, and in all respects was 
ready again to engage an enemy. 

The Epervier struck at 11 a.m. and by sunset 
her captors had her in condition to carry sail. 
It was only by the greatest exertion, however, 
that she was at first kept from sinking. She 
was sent home in charge of Lieutenant Nichol- 
son. On our coast she was chased by a British 
frigate and narrowly escaped capture, but at 
last succeeded in running into Savannah, 
Georgia. 

CAPTURE OF THE " MACEDONIAN " BY THE FRIGATE 
" UNITED STATES " 

In October, 1812, Commodore Stephen De- 
catur sailed from Boston in the frigate United 
States, 44, and on the 25th sighted a large sail 
to the southward and eastward, running free. 
The stranger, having come within a league, wore 
around on the same tack with the United States, 
and, as soon as she was within range, opened 
fire. Finding the enemy on his weather quarter, 
Decatur delivered his port broadside, wore 



Capture of the " Macedonian " 157 

around and came up to the wind, on the other 
tack, heading northerly. Having passed her an- 
tagonist, the United States delivered her star- 
board broadside and wore again, bringing her 
once more on the same tack as her adversary, 
both ships, meanwhile, keeping up a heavy 
cannonade. 

In this manner the action continued about an 
hour, the English ship suffering severely, while 
she inflicted very little injury on her antagonist. 
At length the stranger's mizzen-mast came down 
over her lee quarter, having been shot away 
about ten feet above the deck. She then fell 
off and let her foresail drop, apparently wish- 
ing to close. As the ships came together, the 
shot of the United States did fearful execution, 
the foresail soon being in ribbands, the fore and 
maintop-masts over the side, the main yards 
cut away in the slings, and the foretop-mast 
tottering. The American ship now filled her 
sails, gathered fresh way, and tacked, and as 
the stranger was drifting down, nearly before 
the wind, almost unmanageable, Decatur had no 
difficulty in crossing her wake, while his crew 
still kept up their fire. 

As the United States filled her mizzentopsail 
in preparation for stays, it is said the enemy, 
under the impression that she was about to run 
away, gave three cheers and set a union jack 
in the main rigging. When, however, the Ameri- 
can ship was seen luffing up to close, the jack 



158 The American Navy 

was lowered. As the United States crossed the 
stern of the English ship, the firing having 
ceased on both sides, Decatur hailed and de- 
manded the name of his antagonist and whether 
she had surrendered. He was answered that the 
ship was H. B. M. Macedonian, 49, Captain John 
Surnam Garden, and that she had struck. This 
was just ninety minutes after the commence- 
ment of the action. 

On taking possession, the ship was found to 
be fearfully cut to pieces, having received no 
less than one hundred round shot in her hull 
alone. Of the three hundred men on board, 
thirty-six were killed and sixty-eight wounded. 
The United States lost five killed and seven 
wounded. Her rigging was a good deal cut, but 
she was hulled a very few times. She lost one 
of her topgallant masts only. 

Decatur secured the Macedonian's fore- and 
main-masts, rigged a jury mizzen-mast, and sent 
his prize into Newport. Upon the arrival of the 
United States at New London on December 4th, 
Decatur's brilliant service was acknowledged by 
a vote of thanks from Congress and a gold medal, 
with a silver medal for each of the officers. The 
State of Virginia also presented swords of honor 
to Decatur and to his officers. 



CHAPTER X 

THE " CHESAPEAKE " AND THE " SHANNON " 

THIS ill-fated action, in which the brave Cap- 
tain Lawrence was to lose both his ship 
and his life, was practically the only naval duel 
in the War of 1812 fought between fairly equal 
combatants, in which the Americans were the 
losers. James Lawrence, who has been justly 
called " the Bayard of the Sea," was born in 
Burlington, New Jersey, October 1, 1781. He 
received his appointment as midshipman in 1798, 
and for special gallantry was made acting lieu- 
tenant two years later, while commanding a 
gunboat, as second in command to Decatur, in 
the expedition to destroy the captured frigate 
Philadelphia, under the walls of Tripoli. He 
received his lieutenant's commission in 1802; in 
1808 he was first lieutenant of the Constitution, 
and later was in turn in command of the Argus, 
Vixen, and Wasp in Commodore Preble's squad- 
ron. In 1811 he was promoted to captain and 
placed in command of the Hornet and in her, in 
February, 1813, off Demerara, he captured the 
British brig Peacock, 20, after a brief but bloody 
engagement of fourteen minutes, as has been 
already related. 

159 



160 The American Navy 

The Hornet returned to Boston after this 
victory and in recognition of it the Navy De- 
partment ordered him to the command of the 
frigate Chesapeake, then fitting out at Boston. 

A few days after this Captain Philip Bowes 
Vere Broke of the British frigate Shannon, then 
cruising in the offing, sent in to him a very 
courteous challenge to engage his ship, promis- 
ing a fair meeting and pointing out to Lawrence 
that he could not otherwise hope to get to sea 
in the presence of the British squadron. In 
view of the fact that Lawrence had sent in a 
similar challenge to the English man-of-war 
Bonne Citoyenne at San Salvador, Brazil, he 
could not very well decline Broke's missive al- 
though the Chesapeake was in no sense fit to 
go to sea. Most of her old crew, their time 
being up, had left, angry at not having received 
what they considered as their due share of prize- 
money. It was very hard to get sailors, most 
of them preferring to ship in privateers where 
the chances of earning prize-money was very 
great. In consequence of this an unusually large 
number of foreigners were shipped for the Chesa- 
peake, including forty British and a number of 
Portuguese. These last were peculiarly trouble- 
some, one of their number, a boatswain's mate, 
finally almost bringing about a mutiny among 
the crew, which was only pacified by giving the 
men prize-checks. At the last moment, a few 
of the Constitution's old crew came aboard, and 







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JAMES LAWRENCE 
From an engraving by Leney of the portrait by Stuart 



1 62 The American Navy 

Shannon stood off under easy sail, and at 3.40 
hauled up and reefed topsails, to bring her into 
fighting trim. At 4 p.m. she again bore away 
with her foresail brailed up, and her maintop- 
sail braced flat and shivering, that the Chesa- 
peake might overtake her. An hour later she 
again hauled and lay to under topsail, topgallant- 
sails, jib, and spanker. Meanwhile, the breeze 
having freshened, the Chesapeake had taken in 
her light sails and came down very fast, as if 
eager for the fray, under fighting canvas, top- 
sails, and jib. The Shannon's maintopsail was 
filled at 5.30, to keep the ship under control, and 
the Chesapeake, hauling up her foresail, gallantly 
steered straight for the Shannon's starboard 
quarter. As the English ship was running with 
the wind a little free, there was an anxious 
moment on board of her, during which it was 
uncertain on which side the Chesapeake was 
about to close. Broke was afraid that Law- 
rence would pass under the Shannon's stern, 
rake her, and engage her on the quarter, 
which seemed the probable manoeuvre under the 
circumstances, but either overlooking or chival- 
rously waiving the advantage presented, Law- 
rence luffed up within fifty yards upon the 
Shannon's quarter, and laid his enemy fairly 
alongside, yard-arm and yard-arm. At 5.30 the 
first gun was fired from the British ship the 
Chesapeake replying with her whole broadside, 
which was very destructive. At 5.53 Lawrence, 



"Chesapeake" and "Shannon" 163 

finding his ship was forging ahead of the 
enemy, hauled up a little. The Chesapeake's 
broadsides were doing great damage to her 
enemy, but she was suffering even more than 
her foe. The men in the Shannon's tops could 
hardly see the deck of the American ship 
through the cloud of splinters, hammocks, and 
other debris that was flying across it. Man 
after man was killed at the wheel : the fourth 
lieutenant, the master, and the boatswain were 
slain, and at 5.56, having had her jib-sheet and 
foretopsail tie shot away and her spanker brails 
loosened so that the sail blew out, the Chesa- 
peake came up into the wind, exposing her 
quarter to a raking fire from her antagonist's 
broadside, which beat in her stern-ports and 
swept all the men from the after guns. One 
of the arm-chests on the quarter-deck was 
blown up by a hand grenade thrown from the 
Shannon, which spread a fire accompanied by 
a thick smoke, causing much confusion on the 
upper deck. 

The Chesapeake now got sternway and was 
slowly paying off when the two frigates fell 
aboard, the Chesapeake's quarter pressing upon 
the Shannon's side just forward of the starboard 
main -chains, and the vessels were kept in that 
position by the fluke of the Shannon's anchor 
catching in the Chesapeake's quarter-port. 

When Captain Lawrence perceived that the 
ships were likely to fall foul of each other, he 



1 64 The American Navy 

directed the boarders to be called, but unfortu- 
nately the bugler, who had been substituted for 
the drummer, was a negro, and he had become 
so much alarmed at the effect of the conflict 
that he had concealed himself under the stern 
of the launch; when found he was completely 
paralyzed by fear, and was totally unable to 
sound a note. Verbal orders were accordingly 
sent below for the boarders to come on deck. 
At this critical moment Captain Broke ran 
forward and ordered the ships to be lashed to- 
gether, the great guns to cease firing, and the 
boarders to be called away. The Shannon's 
boatswain, one of Rodney's veterans, sprang into 
the chains and at once set about securing the 
vessels, which he succeeded in doing, although 
his right arm was well-nigh hacked off by an 
American seaman with a cutlass before he had 
accomplished his task. 

Meanwhile, all was confusion on board the 
Chesapeake ; Lawrence, conspicuous by his sta- 
ture and his uniform, had been shot through the 
body, as the ships closed, by Lieutenant Law of 
the British marines. He fell dying and was 
carried below, exclaiming, " Don't give up the 
ship ! " Lieutenant Ludlow had been mortally 
wounded. At this juncture the third lieutenant, 
W. S. Cox, came on deck from the main bat- 
tery, but, utterly demoralized by the conditions 
that confronted him, he basely ran below with- 
out attempting to rally the disheartened men, 




LIEUTENANT AUGUSTUS LUDLOW 



"Chesapeake" and "Shannon" 165 

and was court-martialed afterward for his 
cowardice. 

Captain Broke stepped from the gangway rail 
of his ship to the muzzle of the Chesapeake's 
aftermost carronade, followed by about twenty 
of his men. As they came aboard, the Chesa- 
peake's crew deserted their quarters and, led 
by the cowardly Portuguese boatswain's mate, 
ran below. Among these cravens was Midship- 
man Deforest. The only resistance offered to 
the boarders on the quarter-deck was made by 
the chaplain, Mr. Livermore, who advanced firing 
his pistol at Broke. The English captain at 
once returned the compliment by a stroke from 
his sword that nearly hewed off the arm of the 
chaplain militant. The marines, who were sta- 
tioned on the spar deck, true to the traditions 
of their corps, behaved well. Of the forty-four 
men, fourteen had been killed, including Lieu- 
tenant James Brown and Corporal Dixon, and 
twenty, including the two sergeants, Irvin and 
Harris, were wounded, so that there were left 
unwounded of the marine guard but one cor- 
poral and nine men, although, as a matter of 
fact, several of these had been knocked down 
and bruised in the melee. 

The English boarders, therefore, found at first 
little resistance except from the fire of the Chesa- 
peake's mizzentopmen, who mortally wounded 
Mr. Samwell and killed Lieutenant Watt, until 
they were driven from the place by one of the 



1 66 The American Navy 

Shannon's long nines, that was trained upon 
the top. At the same time the men in the Chesa- 
peake's maintop were driven out of it by the 
fire of the Shannon' 's foretopmen. Lieutenant 
George Budd, who was in charge of the main- 
deck battery, now for the first time learned 
that the enemy had boarded, as the spar-deck 
men came crowding below, and he at once called 
upon his people to follow him, but the foreigners 
held back and only a few veterans followed him 
up. As soon as Budd reached the upper deck, 
although but a dozen men were with him, the 
gallant fellow attacked the enemy as they came 
from the quarter-deck along the gangway, repuls- 
ing them for a moment and killing the British 
purser, Aldham, and captain's clerk Dunn; but 
the Americans were overwhelmingly outnum- 
bered and were soon dispersed, Lieutenant Budd 
being wounded and knocked down the main 
hatchway. Lieutenant Ludlow, already mor- 
tally wounded, struggled up on deck, followed 
by two or three men, but he was at once dis- 
abled by a sabre cut. On the forecastle a few 
seamen and marines turned to bay, in an en- 
deavor to retrieve the fortunes of the day. Cap- 
tain Broke, still leading his men with brilliant 
personal courage, attacked the first American, 
who was armed with a pike, parried the blow 
from it, and cut down the man. Attacking an- 
other he was himself cut down and was only 
saved by a seaman, who slew his assailant. One 



"Chesapeake" and " Shannon" 167 

of the half dozen marines in the group of Ameri- 
cans using his clubbed musket killed one of the 
Englishmen, and so stubborn was the resistance 
of this little body of men, that for a moment 
the assailants gave back, having lost several 
killed and wounded, but, quickly rallying in 
response to Broke's renewed onslaught, the 
boarders closed in on their doomed enemies and 
slew them to the last man. A few straggling 
shots were fired up from below, but a well- 
directed volley down the hatchway soon silenced 
this attempt and resistance was at an end. At 
6.05, just fifteen minutes after the first gun had 
been fired, and but five minutes after Captain 
Broke came on board, the Chesapeake's colors 
were struck. 

Of the Chesapeake's crew of three hundred and 
seventy-nine men, sixty-one were killed or mor- 
tally wounded, including her captain, the first 
and fourth lieutenants, the lieutenant of marines, 
the master, boatswain, and three midshipmen. 
Eighty-five were severely and slightly wounded, 
including both the other lieutenants, five mid- 
shipmen and the chaplain; total, one hundred 
and forty-eight, the loss falling almost entirely 
upon the American portion of the crew. 

The Shannon's loss was thirty-three killed or 
died of their wounds, including her first lieu- 
tenant, purser, captain's clerk, and one midship- 
man, and fifty wounded, including the captain 
and boatswain ; total, eighty-three. 



168 The American Navy 

The Chesapeake was taken the next day into 
Halifax, where Captain Lawrence and Lieu- 
tenant Ludlow were both buried with military 
honors. Subsequently the remains of both 
officers were restored to the United States 
and received with public honors at Salem. 
Judge Story delivered an oration there and they 
were buried in state in Trinity Churchyard, 
New York City, where there is a monument to 
Lawrence's memory. Captain Broke was made 
a baronet and Lieutenants Wallis and Falkiner 
were both promoted to commanders. 

Roosevelt, in his Naval War of 1812, in com- 
menting upon this action very justly says : 

Accident had little or nothing to do with the 
gaming of this victory. The explanation of it is 
perfectly easy; Lawrence and Broke were probably 
exactly equal in almost everything that goes to 
make up a first-class commander, but one had 
trained his crew for seven years, and the other was 
new to the ship, to the officers, and to the men, and 
the last to each other. The Chesapeake's crew must 
have been of fine material, or they would not have 
fought so well as they did. 

Captain James Lawrence was a man of noble 
stature and fine personal appearance, he was 
chivalrous, generous, and just, a superb sailor, 
much beloved by his friends, but quick and im- 
petuous in his feelings and sometimes manifested 
his anger on the quarter-deck, but in all critical 



" Chesapeake " and "Shannon" 169 

situations his coolness was remarkable. His 
humanity and kindness of heart were as con- 
spicuous as his courage. His deportment dur- 
ing the battle in which he fell was noble and 
inspiring and the loss of his ship may be 
largely imputed to his death. His dying words, 
" Don't give up the ship ! " have passed into a 
nautical rallying cry and were emblazoned on 
Perry's signal flag two months later at Lake 
Erie, when the Lawrence led the American fleet 
to victory. 






CHAPTER XI 

THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE 

IN the naval history of the United States a 
special halo of romance has been thrown 
upon the name of Captain Oliver Hazard Perry, 
the youthful hero of the Battle of Lake Erie. 
Oliver came of excellent fighting stock, his 
father, Captain Christopher Raymond Perry, 
having commanded in 1798 the Revolutionary 
cruiser General Greene. Earlier in his life, he was 
captured in a privateer and held as a prisoner 
at Newry, Ireland, where he met and w T ooed his 
first wife, Sarah Alexander. She was a woman 
of uncommonly strong character, of high intel- 
lectual power and rare social grace, training 
her children with extraordinary care to high 
ideals of life and duty. After the fight on Lake 
Erie, some of her neighbors declared that it was 
in reality " Mrs. Perry's victory." Of her five 
sons, Oliver Hazard, Raymond H. J., Matthew 
Galbraith, James Alexander, and Nathaniel 
Hazard, all were officers in the navy, and of 
her three daughters, two married officers of the 
navy. 

Oliver, born August 23, 1785, was carefully 
trained by his mother, who fitted him to com- 

170 




z a 



The Battle of Lake Erie 171 

mand others by teaching him early to obey, and 
inspired him to action by reciting to him the 
deeds of her military ancestors, her grandfather 
having been an officer in the Scotch army and 
a signer of the " Solemn League and Covenant " 
of 1660. Young Oliver received his appointment 
as midshipman in 1799 and made several cruises 
in his father's ship in the West Indies, and was 
in her when she participated in the reduction 
of Jacmel under Commodore Talbot. Subse- 
quently he served under Preble in the Tripolitan 
War, and as acting lieutenant commanded the 
Nautilus in 1804, and served as commander of 
a fleet of seventeen gunboats off Newport 
harbor during the embargo of 1810. In 1811, 
while master-in-command of the schooner Re- 
venge, he was wrecked on the rocks off Watch 
Hill, Rhode Island. At the outbreak of the 
war with Great Britain, Perry was appointed 
master-commandant and resumed the command 
of the gunboats off Newport. Later, failing 
to obtain the command of either the Hornet 
or the Argus, he applied to be transferred to 
Sackett's Harbor, under Commodore Chauncey. 

On February 17, 1813, Perry was ordered to 
take such officers and men from his gunboat 
flotilla as were suitable and report to Captain 
Chauncey. With the promptness that was so 
marked a characteristic of this young officer, 
within four days after receiving these orders 
he had selected and despatched, in three de- 



172 The American Navy 

tachments, one hundred and fifty men under 
Masters Thomas C. Almy, Stephen Champlin, 
and William Vigneron Taylor, for Lake 
Ontario. 

In these modern days, when detachments of 
soldiers and sailors are sent flying across the 
continent in luxurious trains of steam-cars, it 
is difficult to realize what it meant for that 
little body of sailors to force their way in winter 
through the untracked wilderness that lay be- 
tween the shores of Long Island Sound and Lake 
Ontario. Their progress was slow and weary, 
and often perilous, and it was a full month 
before Perry and his little band arrived at their 
destination, after a journey on foot, in sleighs, 
and at times in canoes down Oswego River to 
its mouth, where they took boats for Sackett's 
Harbor. 

On March 16th Perry left Sackett's Harbor 
for Presque Isle, now called Erie, where he was 
assigned by Chauncey the task of equipping a 
fleet for the protection of Lake Erie. Arriving 
at Erie, March 27th, he found that two brigs, 
the 'Niagara and Lawrence, were nearly com- 
pleted. They were one hundred and twenty- 
nine feet long, with twenty-nine feet beam, of 
five hundred tons burden, constructed of white 
and black oak, with chestnut frames and oak 
sheathing. Two gunboats were also nearly 
planked, and the schooner Scorpion was just 
begun. But, although the hulls of his ships 



The Battle of Lake Erie 173 

were well forward, neither sails, rigging, guns, 
nor ammunition had yet been provided for them. 
So our young commander was compelled to make 
another weary journey in person to Pittsburg 
for these supplies, which, after tiresome delays, 
he at last obtained. 

On the 26th of May, Perry joined Captain 
Chauncey on Lake Ontario for the attack on 
Fort George, and was assigned to command the 
boats in the difficult task of debarking the 
troops, under Colonel Winfield Scott, that co- 
operated in the movement, which finally resulted 
in the evacuation of that stronghold by the 
British on May 27th. 

One result for the American army of this suc- 
cess was the subsequent evacuation of Fort Erie 
by the British, which left the Niagara River 
open, and Captain Perry thus succeeded in get- 
ting the captured brig Caledonia, the purchased 
schooners Somers, Tigress, and Ohio, and the 
sloop Trippe unopposed out of the Niagara 
River, where they had been heretofore block- 
aded by the enemy. In accomplishing this work 
Perry tracked the vessels with several yokes of 
oxen up the stream to Erie, against the swift 
current, and, after infinite labor, brought them 
safely out into the harbor. He found, however, 
that there was less than seven feet of water on 
the bar, and another important obstacle to his 
farther progress was the presence of Captain 
Robert Heriot Barclay's fleet at the entrance of 



174 The American Navy 

the lake where that British officer was main- 
taining a very strict blockade. Captain Barclay 
was an old and skilful seaman of approved cour- 
age, who had served under Nelson at Trafalgar, 
where he was severely wounded, and he had lost 
an arm in another engagement with the French. 
Lieutenant Buchan, who commanded the Lady 
Prevost, had also served with distinction under 
Nelson. It was therefore against these proved, 
veteran commanders that our young captain was 
to try conclusions. 

Captain Barclay kept himself well informed, 
through spies, of the preparations being made 
by Perry; and, on August 2d, as the Americans 
did not seem yet ready to move, the English 
captain, relaxing his vigilance for the moment, 
sailed across to the Canadian side of the lake. 
It was afterward said that he had gone to accept 
an invitation to a public dinner. 

Perry promptly grasped the opportunity thus 
presented and at once proceeded to get the Law- 
rence over the bar. Her guns were hoisted out 
and landed, as well as all other heavy material, 
two large scows were brought alongside, filled 
with water to bring them down to the water's 
edge, and heavy timbers were then run through 
the brig's ports and blocked up from the scows. 
On the afternoon of the fourth of August the 
water was pumped from the scows, the brig was 
lifted two feet, and was thus floated down to the 
bar. To the great disappointment of Perry, 



The Battle of Lake Erie 175 

however, it was found that the Lawrence was still 
too deep, and it became necessary to repeat this 
operation before she would pass over the bar. 
This work occupied the entire night, and, just 
as the Lawrence passed over the bar, next morn- 
ing, Barclay's vessel appeared in sight. The 
Englishman exchanged a few shots with the 
schooners which were covering the, as yet, un- 
armed Lawrence, but, fortunately for the Ameri- 
cans, Barclay decided for unknown reasons not to 
bring on an engagement at that time and hauled 
off. The Niagara passed over the bar readily, and 
Perry proceeded to get his little squadron ready 
for immediate service. His most pressing need 
was men, as he had only sailors enough for one 
ship. In an urgent letter to the Secretary of 
the Navy the young captain says : " Give me 
men, sir, and I will acquire both for you and 
myself honor and glory on this lake or perish 
in the attempt." To Commodore Chauncey he 
writes, pleading : " For God's sake and your own 
and mine, send me men and officers and I will 
have the enemy in a day or two." But in response 
to this appeal only a few men, and those of an 
indifferent kind, were sent to him, and, hear- 
ing that the enemy proposed to send an expedi- 
tion against him to burn his ships, Perry at 
once threw up hasty breastworks to protect his 
vessels against an attack by land. By the end 
of July, Perry mustered three hundred men to 
man his ten vessels, a large number of whom 



176 The American Navy 

had been seriously affected by the weather and 
by the drinking water, which had produced 
diarrhoea. This paltry force was increased to 
four hundred and ninety, mainly by a reinforce- 
ment from General Harrison of one hundred 
Kentuckians, of whom three-quarters were green 
hands, soldiers, and negroes. And with this 
force, on September 10th, he won his glorious 
victory. 

On the 18th of August, Perry sailed on a 
cruise to break his men in to their duties, and, 
sending the Ohio down the lake, the other 
vessels went in to Put-in-Bay. 

At daylight on September 10, 1813, the British 
fleet was sighted to the northwestward, and the 
American fleet at once got under way, some- 
times towing with boats, as the wind was light 
and baffling. Perry hoisted at the peak of the 
Lawrence a large motto flag, bearing the dying 
words of the gallant commander of the Chesa- 
peake, " Don't give up the ship ! " Barclay's fleet 
was in close column, heading southwest, in the 
following order: Chippeway, 1; Detroit, 19, 
Captain Barclay; Hunter, 10; Queen Charlotte, 
17 ; Lady Prevost, 13 ; and Little Belt, 3. 

Finding it difficult to weather Bass Islands, 
Perry determined to wear and run to leeward 
of them. His sailing-master suggested that this 
would cause them to engage the enemy to lee- 
ward. " I don't care," replied Perry, with 
determination, " to windward or to leeward, 



The Battle of Lake Erie 177 

whichever it be, they shall fight to-day ! " But as 
he spoke the wind shifted and the American fleet 
fortunately fetched to windward of the islands 
and retained the weather-gage. The American 
ships came down with the wind on the port 
beam in column ahead obliquely: The Ariel 4, 
Lieutenant John H. Packet; and Scorpion, 2, 
Master Stephen Charnplin, leading, both on the 
weather-bow of the Lawrence, 20, Captain O. H. 
Perry; next the Caledonia, 3, Lieutenant Daniel 
Turner; Niagara, 20, Captain Jesse D. Elliott; 
Somers, 2, Lieutenant A. EL M. Conklin; Por- 
cupine, 1, Acting-Master George Serrat; Tigress, 
1, Master Thomas C. Almy; and Trippe, 1, Lieu- 
tenant Thomas Holdup. 

As it was close to the dinner hour, the noon- 
day grog was served to the men with biscuit, 
and after that was consumed every one went to 
quarters, and Perry passed through the ship, 
inspecting every gun and speaking a word of 
encouragement to the men. Seeing some of the 
Constitution's crew with whom he had served 
he said, " Well, boys, are you ready? " They 
touched their hats and answered, after the fash- 
ion of the day, " All ready, your honor ! " As 
he came to the men from his former Newport 
flotilla, many of them the sons of his old neigh- 
bors, he said : " I need not say anything to you. 
You know how to beat those fellows." Perry 
then retired to his cabin, and, after destroying 
his private papers, wrapped his public documents 



i7 8 The American Navy 

in lead ready to be thrown overboard in the event 
of capture. 

Barclay expected an easy victory, and, as his 
ships bore down on the American fleet at eleven 
o'clock, the bugle sounded from the Detroit, 
and the whole line gave three sturdy British 
cheers. The ships had been lately painted, their 
rigging was freshly tarred down, and they pre- 
sented a very fine appearance, with ensigns and 
pennants flying from peaks and mastheads. 

The Detroit opened the action with a shot 
from her long twenty-four-pounder to try the 
range, which fell short, but the second struck 
and passed through the Lawrence, as the Scor- 
pion responded with her long thirty-two. At 
11.55 the Laiorence opened with her long 
twelves; at 12 m. she began to fire her carro- 
nades, but their shot fell short. By this time 
the action became general, although, as the wind 
was so light, the sternmost of the American 
vessels were not within range. As the Law- 
rence closed very slowly she suffered severely 
before her short broadside guns came into range, 
as she was receiving the concentrated fire of 
the thirty long guns of the CMppeway , Detroit, 
and Hunter, and every brace and bowline was 
shot away. Meanwhile, the Caledonia, Niagara, 
and Vomers were engaged at long range with 
the Hunter and Queen Charlotte, while the 
smaller American vessels were engaging the 
Prevost and Little Belt far astern. By 12.20 



The Battle of Lake Erie 179 

the Lawrence, with the Scorpion and Ariel, came 
to close quarters, with the Detroit and Chippe- 
tcay at canister range, and about this time the 
Ariel's long twelve burst, while one of the 
Scorpion's carronades, in consequence of over- 
loading, was upset down the hatchway. Fortu- 
nately, the Caledonia drew into the fight with 
the Hunter, but the Niagara, well at a distance, 
was almost entirely uninjured. 

For fully one hour Perry fought three ships, 
receiving the concentrated fire of the Detroit, 
Hunter, and Lady Prevost, while he was prac- 
tically unsupported. One by one the guns of 
the Lawrence were dismounted, her spars were 
shattered, and her sails were hanging in shreds 
and tatters, while out of a complement of one 
hundred and three men, eighty-three had been 
killed and wounded. The first lieutenant, John 
J. Yarnall, came to Perry with his face covered 
with blood and said : " All the officers of my 
division are disabled. Can I have others? " 
Perry sent his personal aids, but in a few min- 
utes Yarnall returned, saying : " Those officers 
have been cut down; I need more." Perry re- 
plied : " I have no more to give you. You must 
endeavor to make out by yourself." " All right, 
sir," was the cheerful response, as the lieutenant 
returned to his division. Three times this gal- 
lant officer was wounded and taken to the cock- 
pit, but each time he returned to his post after 
his wounds were dressed. 



180 The American Navy 

Perry had several very narrow escapes. One of 
the after-guns seemed to be disabled, and Perry 
advanced to see what was the matter. The captain 
of the gun, one of the Constitution's crew, said, 
" I can fire it, sir," and was just about to do 
so when a twenty-four-pound shot passed through 
his body and he fell at Perry's feet. Lieutenant 
John Brooks, in command of the marines, 
was speaking to Perry when he was struck 
in the thigh by a cannon-ball, which carried 
him across the deck. Shrieking with pain, 
he implored Perry to shoot him and end his 
agony. 

In the cockpit of the Lawrence, which was 
above the water-line, the carnage was fearful, 
several men being struck by shot while they 
were undergoing operations. Midshipman Henry 
Lamb, after having his shattered arm dressed, 
was struck in the side by a twenty-four-pound 
shot and instantly killed, while an Indian sailor 
was killed in the same manner. Yet, when 
Perry called down to know if any of the 
wounded could pull a rope, several of the gal- 
lant fellows crawled up on deck to do what 
they could. 

By half-past two, with the aid of Chaplain 
Breeze and Purser Hambleton, Perry had fired 
the last gun that was left mounted on the deck 
of the Lawrence, and it was evident to him that 
the Niagara must be brought up to save the 
day. He therefore gave orders to Lieutenant 




OLIVER H. PERRY 

From an engraving of the painting by J. W. Jarvis 



The Battle of Lake Erie 181 

Yarnall to hold out to the last, and, manning 
his boat with his brother James and four sea- 
men, he was shoving off from the Laiorence, 
when Hosea Sargeant hauled down the blue flag 
with the motto, " Don't give up the ship ! " and 
tossed it to Perry in the stern-sheets of the 
cutter. 

For a time the battle smoke concealed this 
movement from the sight of the enemy, but at last 
they opened upon the boat, one shot striking her, 
but fortunately not inflicting serious damage, 
and Perry reached the Niagara and, climbing 
up her side, assumed command of the ship, 
hoisting his broad pennant and the signal 
flag bearing Lawrence's dying words at the 
masthead. 

As he came over the side, Captain Elliott 
met Perry and asked how the day was going. 
" Badly," was the reply. He had lost nearly 
all his men and the Lawrence was a wreck. 
Elliott then asked what the gunboats were do- 
ing so far astern, and he offered to bring them 
up. Perry consented and Elliott left in the 
Lawrence's boat on that mission. Perry at once 
backed the Niagara's maintop-sail, hauled up the 
main-trysail and, putting the helm up, squared 
the yards and bore straight down with the fresh- 
ening breeze for the enemy, setting his topgallant- 
sails, and making signal for close action. This 
bold manoeuvre was received with hearty cheers 
by the American fleet, which seemed to be at 



1 82 The American Navy 

once inspired with renewed life for the second 
stage of the conflict. 

As Perry bore down on them, the Detroit made 
an effort to wear to bring her starboard battery 
to bear, as seven of her port guns had been 
disabled by the fire from the Lawrence. In do- 
ing this she fouled the Queen Charlotte, and the 
two British ships lay together, head and stern, 
as the Niagara, breaking the enemy's line, backed 
her maintop-sail and passed slowly under the 
bows of the Detroit, pouring a deadly raking 
fire of grape and canister into both vessels with 
her starboard battery. At the same time she 
was raking the sterns of the Lady Prevost and 
Little Belt with her port battery, while the 
Kentucky riflemen in the tops were busily pick- 
ing off every enemy visible on their decks. 

In obedience to Perry's signal, the Caledonia 
followed the Niagara, pouring in her broadside; 
while the Ariel, the Somers, now commanded by 
Elliott, and the Scorpion, Tigress, and Porcupine 
came down with the breeze and tackled the other 
British vessels with furious onslaught. 

At 2.30, when Perry shifted his flag from the 
Lawrence, the British believed the victory was 
theirs, and loud cheers resounded through their 
fleet as the American broad pennant came down 
from the disabled flagship. Thirty minutes 
later, at 3 p.m., an officer appeared on the taff- 
rail of the Hunter, waving a white handkerchief 
on a boarding-pike as a token of surrender, and 



The Battle of Lake Erie 183 

Perry had thus snatched victory from defeat, 
and, for the first time in her long and brilliant 
naval history, an entire British fleet surrendered 
at discretion. 

At this signal the fire of our vessels ceased, 
and Perry, again changing his flag, took his 
boat and returned to the Lawrence that he might 
receive the surrender of the British fleet upon 
her battle-scarred decks. 

As Perry reached his ship the heroic survivors 
of her crew who could walk greeted their com- 
mander in dignified silence, but with deep emotion. 
Few were unwounded, all were battle-stained, 
and the decks were slippery with blood, like the 
floor of a slaughter-house, and littered with 
broken spars, dismounted guns, and shattered 
timbers. As the British officers came on board 
they carefully picked their way over the bodies 
of the slain as they came aft to surrender their 
swords, which Perry requested them to retain, 
inquiring with deep interest for Commodore 
Barclay and the other wounded officers. 

The loss in the Lawrence alone was twenty- 
two killed and sixty-one wounded, out of a total 
loss for the squadron of twenty-seven killed and 
ninety-six wounded, or eighty-three in one ship 
out of a total of one hundred and twenty-three 
for the twelve vessels. The British loss was forty- 
one killed and ninety-four wounded. Com- 
modore Barclay reported that every commander 
and everv officer second in command of his fleet 



1 84 The American Navy 

were disabled. When the Niagara bore down and 
delivered her raking fire, Barclay received a 
grape-shot in the right shoulder which broke the 
shoulder-blade to pieces. The gallant captain 
had already been wounded, earlier in the action, 
in the thigh. 

After receiving the surrender of the British 
fleet, Perry took an old letter from his pocket, 
and, on the blank sheet, wrote to General 
Harrison as follows: 

Dear General: We have met the enemy, and 
they are ours ! — two ships, two brigs, one schooner, 
and one sloop. 

Yours with great respeGt and esteem, 

O. H. Perry. 

To the Secretary of the Navy he wrote: 

Sir: It has pleased the Almighty to give to the 
arms of the United States a signal victory over 
their enemies on this lake. The British squadron, 
consisting of two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and 
one sloop, have this moment surrendered to the 
force under my command after a sharp conflict. I 
have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, 
Your Obt. Servant, 

O. H. Perry. 
Hon. William Jones, 

Secretary of the Navy. 

The day after the battle Perry shifted his 



The Battle of Lake Erie 185 

flag to the Ariel, and, putting all the sick and 
wounded on board the Lawrence, sent her to 
Erie as a hospital-ship. He also visited Captain 
Barclay on board the Detroit and proffered his 
sympathy and every available comfort to the 
wounded prisoner, with the assurance that his 
parole should be effected, which that officer 
finally obtained at Perry's personal request. 

At nine o'clock on September 11th, the officers 
killed in action on both sides were buried near 
the shore of the lake at Put-in-Bay with mili- 
tary honors. Perry and the American and 
British officers marched two and two, and the 
drums and fifes of both squadrons played the 
" Dead March," while minute-guns were fired 
from the ships of both squadrons. 

The comparative force of the two combatants 
in this fight is variously stated, no two accounts 
agreeing exactly. Roosevelt asserts that the 
superiority of the Americans in long-gun metal 
was nearly as three is to two, and in carronade 
metal greater than two to one. He gives Perry 
nine vessels, of 1671 tons, with 532 in crews 
(416 fit for duty), his vessels throwing 936 
pounds of metal in broadside. To Barclay he 
awards six vessels, of 1460 tons, with 440 in 
crews, the British throwing 459 pounds of metal 
in broadside. 

But, even granting these figures are correct, 
it must be remembered that the Niagara and 
three of the American schooners were prac- 



1 86 The American Navy 

tically out of the fight until after the Lawrence 
had been disabled, and also that the Ariel and 
Scorpion each lost one of their thirty-two's in 
the very beginning of the fight. The thirty-five 
long guns of Barclay's fleet, to Perry's fifteen, 
was also an important advantage, as a great 
portion of the action was fought at long range 
and the Lawrence was severely cut up by the 
Detroit's long guns before she could bring her 
carronades into effective play. 

It is also an important factor that Barclay's 
fleet was manned by one hundred and fifty sea- 
men from the royal navy, eighty hardy Canadian 
sailors, and two hundred and forty British 
regular soldiers; while Perry's crews were made 
up mainly of raw recruits and volunteer soldiers, 
with a few sailors brought overland from New 
England. When the Lawrence went into action 
she had thirty-four of her complement of one 
hundred and thirty-seven on the sick-list. 

The result of this victory was momentous in 
the extreme, for had it gone the other way, Gen- 
eral Proctor, with the Indian chief, Tecumseh, 
was at Maiden with five thousand men, ready 
to cross the frontier and lay waste the territory 
of the United States. But, on September 23d, 
Perry carried General Harrison's army across 
the lake, and, at the battle of the Thames, 
Proctor was signally defeated, and Tecumseh, a 
brave and relentless enemy of the Americans, 
was killed. Four days later Perry co-operated 



The Battle of Lake Erie 187 

with the army in the reoccupation of Detroit, 
and our northwest territory was soon freed from 
British occupation. 

Perry was at once promoted to Captain, and 
received the thanks of Congress and a gold 
medal. The city of Boston presented him with 
a set of silver; other cities voted him thanks, 
while the country rang with the public rejoic- 
ings. A gold medal was also awarded by Con- 
gress to Captain Elliott, silver medals to each 
of the commissioned officers, and swords to the 
nearest male relatives of the officers killed in 
battle. Congress also voted $255,000 prize- 
money to the captors of the British fleet, of 
which sum Commodore Chauncey (who was on 
Lake Ontario when the battle was fought) re- 
ceived the lion's share — $12,750, while Perry 
would have had only $71-10, if Congress had 
not voted him $5000 additional compensation. 

On October 25, 1813, Perry resigned his com- 
mand on Lake Erie and was ordered to the 
command of the new frigate Java, then fitting 
out at Baltimore, and he was subsequently with 
Decatur in his operations against Algiers. While 
commanding the naval station in the West In- 
dies, Perry died of yellow fever in Port of Spain, 
Island of Trinidad, on August 23, 1819, and his 
body was sent home in a man-of-war to his 
native town, Kingston, Rhode Island. A monu- 
ment was there erected over his grave, while 
both at Newport and Cleveland, Ohio, statues 



1 88 The American Navy 

have been set up to the memory of this brilliant 
naval officer. 

At the conclusion of the War of 1812, the 
Lmcrence, with other vessels of the squadron, 
was dismantled and laid up, and she was sub- 
sequently sold. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. THE DESTRUC- 
TION OF THE "GENERAL ARMSTRONG" AND THE 
CAPTURE OF THE " ST. LAWRENCE " 

TOWARD the close of the summer of 1814 it 
became apparent that the British medi- 
tated an important movement on the frontiers 
of New York and Vermont. Large bodies of 
troops who had seen service in the Peninsular 
War were poured into Canada, and it became 
known that a heavy detachment, under General 
Sir George Prevost, was advancing upon Platts- 
burg. A regular force of American troops, un- 
der General Macomb, quite inadequate to resist 
the attack, were awaiting the British force. In 
such a campaign as this promised, with Canada 
as a base, the command of Lake Champlain be- 
came of great importance, as it flanked the march 
of the invading army for more than a hundred 
miles and offered great facilities for forwarding 
supplies to the army. 

In August, 1814, Master-Commandant Thomas 
Macdonough was appointed to the command of 
the American naval forces on Lake Cham- 
plain, with headquarters at Plattsburg Bay. 
Macdonough received his midshipman's warrant 

189 



190 The American Navy 

in 1800 and he was one of the young officers 
who accompanied Decatur in his perilous feat 
of burning the Philadelphia, February 16, 1804. 
Macdonough was sent out to Lake Champlain 
to relieve Lieutenant Sydney Smith, who had 
lost his two vessels to the British; and it was 
Macdonough's task to construct a new naval 
force on the lake and to endeavor to regain our 
supremacy on those waters. 

The young commander went to work with a 
will and within forty days from the time the 
trees had been standing in the forest that fur- 
nished the timber of which the Saratoga was 
built at Vergennes, Vermont, she was launched 
and immediately received her armament of eight 
long twenty-fours and eighteen smaller guns. 
The brig Eagle, twenty guns, the schooner Ticon- 
deroga, 17, and the sloop Preble, 7, with ten 
gunboats, carrying sixteen guns, were also soon 
ready for service. The British commander, Cap- 
tain Downie, had in readiness to oppose this 
force the frigate Confiance, thirty-nine guns, the 
brig Linnet, sixteen guns, the sloops Chubb and 
Finch, eleven guns each, and thirteen large 
galleys armed with one gun each. 

On Sunday morning, September 11th, the 
British squadron stood up to Plattsburg Bay, 
where the American fleet awaited them at an- 
chor in line formation. There was little breeze 
and the British ships formed a line parallel to 
the Americans. The Eagle opened the action 




THOMAS MACDONOUGH 
From an engraving of the painting by J. W. Jarvis 



The Battle of Lake Champlain 191 

with a broadside which fell short, when the 
Saratoga at once replied, Macdonough himself 
sighting and firing the first gun, the shot raking 
the deck of the Con-fiance and shattering her 
wheel. The brave Downie, however, held his 
fire, working his ship nearer to the Saratoga, 
and not until he had anchored in a favorable 
position did he return Macdonough's fire. 

When this manoeuvre was effected, however, 
he opened a hot and very accurate broadside 
fire, which was terribly destructive, forty of the 
Americans being killed or wounded within a 
few minutes, Mr. Gamble, the First Lieutenant 
of the Saratoga, among them. But the return 
fire of the American flagship was equally de- 
structive and, one of her shot striking a gun 
on the deck of the Confiance, it was thrown from 
its carriage striking Captain Downie, who was 
instantly killed by the shock, although his skin 
was not broken. 

By this time the Saratoga's starboard battery, 
with the exception of one gun, was either dis- 
mounted or disabled, and Macdonough let go a 
stern anchor and with springs on the stern cable 
winded the ship to bring her port battery to bear. 
The Confiance attempted the same manoeuvre, 
but, when half warped, she hung and, thus ex- 
posed to the raking fire of the Saratoga and the 
Eagle, she was compelled to strike within fifteen 
minutes. The British sloop that was opposed 
to the Eagle and the one engaging our galleys 



192 The American Navy 

also struck, and the British galleys, finding the 
day was lost, incontinently made off and es- 
caped by using their sweeps. 

The ships on both sides were badly cut up, 
the Saratoga having fifty-five shot-holes in her 
hull and the Con-fiance one hundred and five, 
while the smaller vessels were equally injured. 
In this long and bloody conflict the American 
loss was fifty-two killed and fifty-eight wounded. 
The British loss was about three hundred killed 
and wounded. 

The consequences of this victory were imme- 
diate and most important. During the action 
Sir George Prevost had skirmished in front of 
the American works and was busily making 
preparations for a more serious attack. As 
soon as the fate of the British squadron was 
ascertained, however, he made a precipitate and 
unmilitary retreat, abandoning military stores 
and supplies. From that moment until the end 
of the war the northern frontier was cleared of 
the enemy. 

In recognition of his victory Macdonough was 
promoted to Captain and received a gold medal 
from Congress, while the State of Vermont pre- 
sented him with an estate at Cumberland Head, 
overlooking the scene of the engagement, a 
property which is still held in the family. 

THE " GENERAL ARMSTRONG " 

The most desperate combat recorded in the 



The " General Armstrong" 193 

history of privateering during the War of 1812 
was that maintained by the brig General Arm- 
strong, of New York, Captain Samuel G. Reid, 
seven guns with a crew of ninety men, including 
officers. 

On the 26th of September, 1814, at eight 
o'clock in the evening, the General Armstrong 
lay at anchor in the harbor of Fayal, Azores, 
when, in flagrant violation of the laws of neutral- 
ity, four large and heavily armed launches, car- 
rying one hundred and sixty men, from the 
British flagship Plantagenet, 74; the frigate 
Rota, 44; and the brig Carnation, 18, were ob- 
served pulling into the harbor heading toward 
the General Armstrong. The moon was shining 
brightly and, as soon as the boats approached, 
Captain Reid hailed them, but received no 
answer. 

The boats and the privateer opened fire simul- 
taneously and the attacking party was soon 
repulsed with great loss, the Armstrong losing 
one man killed, while her first lieutenant was 
wounded. At midnight, however, the attack 
was renewed by fourteen launches, carrying 
about five hundred men. A furious conflict en- 
sued, which lasted forty minutes, no quarter 
being given on either side. The enemy, however, 
were at last repulsed with a loss of one hundred 
and twenty killed and one hundred and thirty 
wounded. 

Captain Reid, now convinced that his oppo- 



194 The American Navy 

nents were determined upon the destruction of 
his vessel at any odds, commenced warping the 
brig under the guns of the castle, and called 
upon the commandant for the protection to 
which he was entitled by international law in a 
neutral port. His precautions were speedily 
justified, for at daylight the Carnation was seen 
standing in to the harbor, where she took posi- 
tion and opened a deliberate and heavy fire upon 
the privateer. 

Eeid, nothing daunted, promptly responded 
and the rapidly delivered fire from her long- 
torn very soon caused the Carnation to with- 
draw. The Armstrong, however, was much 
damaged and, as Captain Reid saw that his case 
was hopeless, as the Portuguese Governor de- 
clined to aid him, he ordered his vessel scuttled 
and abandoned her. The British forces then 
boarded the Armstrong, and set her on fire. In- 
credible as it may appear, while the English 
lost over three hundred in killed and wounded 
in this desperate encounter, the American loss 
was but two killed and seven wounded. 

In addition to the glory won by the bravery 
of this heroic resistance to the British squadron, 
Captain Reid and his men undoubtedly saved 
New Orleans from capture by the delay caused 
by this attack. The English fleet engaged was 
part of a squadron then gathering at Jamaica 
for the purpose of seizing New Orleans, and the 
object of the attack upon the Armstrong was to 



"Chasseur" and "St. Lawrence" 195 

capture her and make her a useful auxiliary in 
that work. She so crippled her assailants, how- 
ever, that they did not reach Jamaica until full 
ten days later than the expedition expected to 
have sailed. Had the fleet approached New 
Orleans ten days earlier than it did, the city 
would have been, without doubt, an easy prey 
to the British, for General Jackson had not then 
made his arrangements for its defence. 

Upon his return to the United States Captain 
Reid was given a public dinner by the Virginia 
Legislature, and the judges of the Supreme 
Court of New York gave him a vote of thanks 
and a sword of honor, Tammany Hall presenting 
him with a service of plate. Captain Reid was 
subsequently appointed a sailing-master in the 
United States Navy, holding that office until 
his death, January 28, 1861. 

THE " CHASSEUR " AND " ST. LAWRENCE " 

In January, 1815, the privateer brig Chasseur, 
16, Captain Thomas Boyle, sailed from Bal- 
timore, Maryland. On her cruise she made 
eighteen prizes, and in manning these vessels 
she reduced her crew of one hundred and fifteen 
men to eighty. She was then chased by the 
Barassa frigate and, to escape her, lightened by 
throwing overboard ten of her long twelves. 
These guns were later partially replaced by add- 
ing eight nine-pound carronades taken from a 



196 The American Navy 

prize, but as she had no nine-pound shot the 
nine-pounders were loaded, as a makeshift, with 
one four-pound and one six-pound shot. 

On February 26th, while two leagues from 
Havana, the Chasseur fell in with the British 
man-of-war St. Lawrence, Lieutenant H. C. Gor- 
don, mounting twelve twelve-pound carronades 
and one long nine, carrying between sixty and 
eighty men. Captain Boyle, mistaking the St. 
Lawrence for a merchant vessel, at once closed 
with her and a brief but bloody action ensued. 
At 1.26 p.m. the St. Lawrence fired the first 
broadside, within pistol-shot, to which the Chas- 
seur responded with her great guns and with 
musketry. Captain Boyle then tried to close, 
so as to board, but, having too much way on, 
shot ahead under the lee of his antagonist, who 
put her helm up to wear under the Chasseur's 
stern. Boyle, however, followed his antagonist's 
manoeuvre, and the two vessels ran along side 
by side, the St. Lawrence drawing ahead, while 
the firing was very heavy. Then Captain Boyle 
put his helm a-starboard and ran his adversary 
aboard, when, in the act of boarding, the colors 
of the St. Lawrence were struck at 1.41 p.m., 
fifteen minutes after the first shot. 

Of the Chasseur's crew five were killed and 
eight wounded, including Captain Boyle, 
slightly. Of the St. Lawrence's crew six were 
killed and seventeen wounded. The St. Law- 
rence had originally been an American priva- 



" Chasseur" and "St. Lawrence'* 197 

teer called the Atlas, and was captured by the 
British and taken into their service. At the 
time of her capture the St. Lawrence was bear- 
ing important despatches and a number of 
officers, as passengers, from Eear Admiral Cock- 
burn to the British expedition against New 
Orleans. The night of her capture the masts 
of the St. Lawrence went by the board and, not 
desiring to bring home so many prisoners, Cap- 
tain Boyle made a cartel of his prize and sent 
his prisoners by her into Havana. 



PART II 

The Civil War and the War with Spain 



199 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE MUTINY OF THE " SOMERS " 

THE highest crime known to the law is trea- 
son, because it draws into its train the 
perpetration of all other crimes. On the sea, 
and in the narrow confines of a ship, the crime 
of mutiny corresponds in enormity, as in its 
general character, with treason. It is an en- 
deavor to overturn the government of the ship, 
which is a portion of the floating sovereignty 
of the country, and murder and piracy follow 
in its train. 

In the history of the British navy there have 
been several mutinies, including the famous 
mutiny of the Bounty, in the Pacific Ocean in 
1789; the mutiny at Spithead in 1794, followed 
later by the mutiny of the Nore, and, in 1797, 
the sanguinary mutiny of the Hermione, when 
all her officers were murdered and the vessel 
taken into the Spanish port of La Guaira 
and surrendered to the authorities, Spain being 
at that time at war with England. A very 
similar case was that of H. B. M. ship Danae, in 
which the officers were all murdered and the 
ship carried into Brest, in 1800. 

But the United States has been more fortu- 



202 The American Navy 

nate in that respect, for the conspiracy on board 
the brig Somers, that was nipped in the bud, 
is the only incident of that character recorded 
in the history of the American navy. 

On the 12th of September, 1842, the U. S. brig 
Somers, Commander Alexander Slidell Macken- 
zie, sailed from New York, bound to the coast 
of Africa, bearing despatches for the U. S. S. 
Vandalia on that station. The Somers was a 
small, swift brig of two hundred and sixty tons, 
pierced for fourteen guns, but mounting ten, 
with a complement of one hundred and twenty, 
including twelve officers, nine ordinary seamen, 
and six landsmen, the remainder being naval 
apprentices from the naval training school on 
board the U. S. S. North Carolina. 

The commander, in his twenty-seven years of 
service, had gained honors in other fields of ex- 
ertion beside his profession and had won a dis- 
tinguished name. Among the junior officers was 
Acting-Midshipman Philip Spencer, a son of 
John C. Spencer, of New York, then Secretary 
of War in the Cabinet of President John Tyler, 
and a nephew of Captain William A. Spencer, 
U. S. N., who had had the young man under 
his special supervision until, being ordered to 
the Mediterranean squadron, he had placed him 
in care of Junior Lieutenant William Craney 
of the North Carolina. 

Craney's guardianship of young Spencer, 
however, resulted disastrously to that officer, as 



The Mutiny of the " Somers " 203 

the youngster was not only intemperate, but 
disinclined to submit to discipline, and as an 
outcome of an attempt at punishment for his 
offences political influence was brought to bear 
to such an extent as to end in Craney leaving 
the service. Spencer meanwhile had been trans- 
ferred to the U. S. S. John Adams, on the Brazil 
station, where his vicious indiscretions gained 
him the censure of the Navy Department and 
the young man only escaped a court-martial 
through his father's influence and his promises 
of amendment. 

Before entering the navy, in 1841, Spencer 
had been at Union College, Schenectady, where 
his reputation for misbehavior in refusing to 
conform to the discipline of the school and for 
a strange addiction to piratical adventure was 
singularly pronounced. With such antecedents, 
better conditions for the development of these 
abnormal traits could scarcely have been found 
than was presented by Spencer's orders to the 
Somers — a rakish, swift-sailing, armed brig, 
bound on a cruise to the coast of Africa. 

During the voyage, it was observed that the 
young man associated very little with the other 
officers, but was continually intimate with the 
crew. He drew from the purser large quanti- 
ties of tobacco and cigars, which he distributed 
among the apprentices, whose favor he seemed 
desirous to secure. On the day before leaving 
New York he gave money to Ordinary Seaman 



204 The American Navy 

Elisha Small; on the passage to Madeira he 
gave at one time fifteen dollars to Boatswain's 
Mate Samuel Cromwell; he also corrupted the 
wardroom steward and induced him to steal 
brandy from the mess, which he drank himself 
and distributed among his favorites of the crew. 

After leaving Madeira, on her passage to the 
coast, the influence of Spencer seemed to be 
gaining an ascendancy, while his intimacy with 
Cromwell, Small, and others of the crew was 
observed to increase. His manner toward his 
messmates became more reserved, but among 
the crew he was loud and blasphemous in his 
abuse of the commander, declaring that it would 
give him real pleasure to roll that officer over- 
board from the maintop. 

The final discovery of the mutinous plot came 
about in this way. With Purser's Steward 
James M. Wales the Commander had a slight 
difficulty after leaving Madeira, which probably 
led Spencer to believe that the steward could 
be drawn into his designs. The Somers had 
left Cape Palmas on the 11th of November for 
the United States, intending to touch at the 
island of St. Thomas for fresh provisions and 
water. 

On the night of November 25th, while Wales 
was standing forward by the bitts, Spencer came 
up and after a few remarks about the weather, 
requested the man to get on top of the booms, as 
he had something very important to communi- 



The Mutiny of the " Somers " 205 

cate to him. After taking this position Spencer 
prescribed an oath of most solemn secrecy, and 
then, with great seriousness, revealed his plans. 

According to Wales's account, Spencer said 
he was then leagued with about twenty of the 
brig's company to take the vessel, murder all 
her officers, and enter upon a career of piracy. 
The plan and stations of the men were arranged 
in a paper concealed in his cravat. Spencer re- 
quested Wales to feel of his neck handkerchief, 
and he said, on his examination, that there was 
a rumpling which showed that there was paper 
in the back part of it. The affray was to be 
commenced some night when Spencer had the 
mid-watch. 

Several of his confederates were to engage 
in a fight on the forecastle. Spencer was then 
to order them to the mast, and under pretence 
of settling the difficulty he was to call Lieu- 
tenant Rogers, the officer of the deck, whom the 
men were to seize, as soon as he came to the 
gangway, and throw overboard. The keys of 
the arm-chest, Spencer said, he could lay his 
hands on at any moment, armed men were to 
be stationed at the hatches to prevent any one 
from coming on deck, and the mutineers would 
then have the brig in their possession. 

Spencer said he should next proceed to the 
cabin and murder the commander, with the 
least noise possible, after which, with some of 
his men, he would penetrate the wardroom and 



206 The American Navy 

dispose of the officers, who had no arms, except 
the first lieutenant, who had an old cutlass, 
which he should take care to secure before the 
affray commenced. This accomplished, Spencer 
said he should go on deck, and cause the two 
after-guns to be slued around so as to command 
the vessel's decks from a raking position. He 
would then cause all the crew to be called on 
deck and, after selecting from them such as 
would suit his purpose, he would have the re- 
mainder thrown overboard, particularly the 
small apprentice boys, who were useless, except 
as biscuit consumers. This done the brig was 
to proceed to Cape San Antonio, or to the Isle 
of Pines, and there take on board one who was 
familiar with their intended business, and who 
was ready and willing to join them. Then was 
to commence the career of piracy. 

Wales stated that Spencer dwelt with great 
complacency upon the details of his plan and 
the pleasures that it promised. Prizes were to 
be captured, and after taking from them what- 
ever would be of use, the crews were to be mur- 
dered, except such women as might be on board, 
who were to be reserved for a more brutal 
purpose, and the ships were to be scuttled, that 
no clue should remain. 

Wales said he was too much astonished to 
make any reply, and Spencer then called up 
Small, whom he addressed in Spanish. Small 
looked surprised at what was told him, but 



The Mutiny of the " Somers " 207 

Spencer remarked, in English : " Oh, you need 
not be under any apprehension on his account, 
as I have sounded him pretty well, and find 
him one of us." Small responded " that he was 
very glad to hear it." He was then called away 
about his duty, and Spencer made overtures to 
Wales, offering him the place of third in com- 
mand, if he would join in the conspiracy. 

Thinking it prudent to dissemble, Wales said 
he was favorably disposed to the plan, and as 
they parted, Spencer assured him if he lisped a 
syllable of what had been communicated to him 
he would be murdered, either by himself or some 
other, and that, go where he might, his life would 
not be worth a straw, if he betrayed the plot. 

Wales promised secrecy, but resolved at once 
to communicate all that he had heard to the 
commander. He found himself, however, so 
closely watched by Small or Spencer that he 
was foiled in his attempt that night, but the 
next morning he succeeded in imparting his in- 
formation to Mr. Hieskell, the purser, who in 
turn communicated with Lieutenant Gansevoort 
and he with the commander, without creating 
any suspicion. 

Captain Mackenzie was at first inclined to 
treat the matter with ridicule, as the whole 
affair seemed too monstrous for belief, yet he 
directed the lieutenant to keep a careful watch 
upon Spencer and to report everything that ap- 
peared suspicious in his movements. 



2o8 The American Navy 

Later in the day Gansevoort, who had been 
an anxious observer of what passed, urged upon 
his commander the wisdom of taking some active 
measures at once, recalling to him the fate of 
the officers of the Bounty, whose power was 
overthrown by one man in the early morning 
watch, and of the officers of the Hermione, 
butchered and thrown overboard while the cap- 
tain was murdered in his cabin. Captain 
Mackenzie replied that he should do nothing 
hastily; they must all keep a sharp lookout and 
at evening quarters he would decide what course 
it was best to pursue. 

When the drum beat that night for quarters, 
the commander, in the presence of the officers 
on the quarter-deck, directed the lieutenant to 
arrest Spencer and place him in irons, ordering 
further that he should be put to instant death 
if he was detected in speaking to or holding 
communication with any of the crew. Spencer 
was searched, but nothing was found upon him 
except a few scraps of paper. In a razor case 
in his locker, however, a piece of white paper 
was discovered on which was written in Greek 
characters, which were read by Midshipman 
Rogers, a list of four names marked " certain," 
five others marked " doubtful," and fifteen 
others, including the doctor, marked " to be 
kept nolens volens." The names of those as- 
signed to " the wheel," " arm-chest," " cabin," 
" wardroom," and " steerage," were also in the 



The Mutiny of the " Somers " 209 

list. Spencer's name was down, with others, 
for the three last stations, the duties of which, 
it will be remembered, consisted in murdering 
the commander and his officers. 

Two days later, on November 28th, Small and 
Cromwell were placed under arrest, and on 
November 30th, McKie, Wilson, and Green 
were also put in irons, and all were confined on 
the quarter-deck, the contracted dimensions of 
the little brig affording no other place secure 
against an attempt at rescue. But here it was 
difficult to prevent them from communicating 
with each other and they interfered essentially 
with the management of the vessel. 

At the time these six men were arrested it 
was the evident intention of the commander to 
take them to the United States for trial. But 
during the confinement of the prisoners, sullen- 
ness, discontent, inattention to duty, disobedi- 
ence of orders, the sure precursors of open acts 
of violence, were manifested by the crew. 

Feeling the necessity of immediate action, 
therefore, and desiring counsel, Commander 
Mackenzie addressed to his officers a letter, in 
which he called upon them to take into de- 
liberate and dispassionate consideration the 
present condition of the vessel, and the contin- 
gencies of every nature throughout the remain- 
der of the cruise, and to furnish him their united 
counsel as to the proper course to be pursued. 

Immediately upon the receipt of this letter 



210 The American Navy 

the officers assembled in the wardroom and 
commenced the sworn examination of witnesses. 
The whole day was passed in the performance 
of this duty, without interruption and with- 
out regular food. The commander remained in 
charge of the deck, with the three young mid- 
shipmen on constant duty. 

On the morning of December 1st the officers 
again assembled in the cabin and after further 
consultation addressed the commander a letter 
expressing their unanimous opinion that the 
safety of the vessel demanded the immediate 
execution of Acting-Midshipman Philip Spencer, 
Boatswain's Mate Samuel Cromwell, and Sea- 
man Elisha Small, who, 

in our cool, decided and unanimous opinion have 
been guilty of a full and determined intention to 
commit mutiny on board of this vessel of a most 
atrocious nature, and that the revelations of the 
circumstances having made it necessary to confine 
others with them ... we are convinced that it 
would be impossible to carry them to the United 
States and that the safety of the public property, 
the lives of ourselves and of those committed to 
our charge require that they should be put to 
death, in a manner best calculated, as an example, 
to make a beneficial impression upon the disaffected. 
This opinion we give bearing in mind our duty to 
our God, our country, and to the service. 

This document was signed by all the seven 
officers on board. The commander concurred 



The Mutiny of the " Somers " 211 

in the opinion of his officers and immediate 
measures were taken for carrying the sentence 
of the court into effect. 

On December 1st, as the drum beat to quar- 
ters, Captain Mackenzie and his officers, in full 
uniform and wearing side arms, appeared upon 
the quarter-deck. The shrill whistle of the 
boatswain's mates called, " All hands on deck 
to witness punishment!" The crew mustered 
in silence on the spar-deck. In obedience to 
an order from the officer of the deck two top- 
men lay aloft and dropped three lines, rove 
through blocks, from the main-yard to the deck. 

Captain Mackenzie then approached Spencer 
and said : " I will give you ten minutes to 
prepare any message you may wish to send to 
your parents." 

Falling on his knees the young man ejacu- 
lated : " Sir, I am not fit to die ! " 

" At least," responded the commander, " as 
an officer, set to the men you have deluded the 
example of dying with decorum ! " 

Spencer then recovered himself and gave no 
further token of fear, seemingly communing 
with himself in silent prayer. 

The commander then passed to the other side 
of the deck and made the same announcement 
to Small and to Cromwell. The former an- 
swered : " For me, sir, I have nothing to send. 
I have no one to care for me but my poor old 
mother ! " 



212 The American Navy 

After making a protest against his illegal 
punishment, Spencer finally admitted its jus- 
tice and confessed that while on board the 
Adams and the Potomac he had meditated the 
project of becoming a pirate. 

The ten minutes grace, first accorded, was 
lengthened to sixty before eight bells (twelve 
o'clock) struck. As the condemned men were 
being placed in line Spencer begged Small's for- 
giveness for having led him into trouble and 
then turned to Mackenzie and penitently asked 
his pardon. The commander took the young 
man's hand and expressed his full forgiveness 
in strong and sympathetic language, adding, 
" You must remember I have high responsibili- 
ties to fill to the Government, the flag, and to 
the crew of this vessel." 

" You are right, sir," Small answered, " you 
are doing your duty and I honor you for it. 
God bless the flag and prosper it." Then turn- 
ing to the men who manned the whips, he ex- 
claimed, " Now brother topmen, give me an easy 
death!" 

The drums rolled, the signal gun was fired, 
and as its smoke slowly rose the three unfortu- 
nate men were run up to the yard-arm and the 
brig's sails were filled away by the wind ! 

The writer, who as a boy was then making 
his first voyage to sea, remembers distinctly the 
tremendous excitement caused by this tragedy 
when the Somers returned to New York. The 



The Mutiny of the " Somers " 213 

court-martial, held upon Commander Mackenzie, 
at his own request, convened at the Brooklyn 
Navy Yard, February 23, 1843. It was presided 
over by Commodore John Downs and comprised, 
in addition, twelve of the most distinguished 
officers of the service, and their deliberations 
extended over forty days, the longest naval court- 
martial on record. 

By the final report Commander Mackenzie was 
honorably acquitted of the charge of murder 
on which he was arraigned, and the report was 
approved by President Tyler. 

Mr. R. H. Dana, Jr., author of Two Years 
Before the Mast, wrote of the case: 

I must say no one ought to found an opinion 
upon the issues of this conspiracy without first 
seeing the Somers. You would hardly believe your 
eyes, if you were to see, as the scene of this con- 
spiracy, a little brig, with low bulwarks, a single 
narrow deck, flush fore and aft, and nothing to mark 
the officers' quarters but a long trunk-house, or 
companion-way, raised a few feet from the deck, 
to let light and air in, such as you may have seen 
in our smaller packets, which ply along the sea- 
board. You feel as though half a dozen resolute 
conspirators could have swept the decks, and thrown 
overboard all who opposed them before aid could 
come from below. And in coming on deck (which 
seemed to me more fearful than anything else in 
the officers' condition) the officers would have to 
come up the steps and through the small companion 



214 The American Navy 

scuttles, at which a couple of meu could easily have 
cut them down, or shot them as they appeared. 
... In short no one, at all acquainted with nauti- 
cal matters, can see the Somers without being made 
feelingly aware of the defenceless situation of those 
few officers. 

Charles Suixmer, in commenting upon the case, 
said: 

Over all errors of judgment under such circum- 
stances of necessity, the law throws its ample shield. 
Whatever the commander does in such an emergency 
in good faith and in the conscientious discharge of 
his duty, believing it to be necessary to the safety 
of his ship or of the lives of those on board, re- 
ceives the protection of the law. 

Commander Mackenzie was very severely criti- 
cised for not having held his prisoners until the 
Somers reached St. Thomas, only two days after 
the execution took place and, although his con- 
duct w r as defended by many others, there is no 
doubt but the affair embittered the remainder 
of his life. 

One blustering day in the spring of 1847, while 
the Somers, then under the command of Raphael 
Semmes, later of the Confederate navy, was on 
the blockade of the Mexican coast she attempted 
to intercept a vessel trying to run into port, 
when a sudden tropical squall knocked the brig 
on her beam ends and the Somers sank out of 
sight in ten minutes carrying down with her 
twoscore souls. 



CHAPTER XIV 

ELLET'S STEAM RAMS IN THE FIGHT AT MEMPHIS 

IN January, 1862, more than two months be- 
fore the Merrimac made her memorable at- 
tack upon our fleet in Hampton Roads, Charles 
Ellet, Jr., an eminent civil engineer wrote: 

It is not generally known that the rebels now 
have five steam-rams nearly ready for use. Of these 
two are on the lower Mississippi, two are at Mo- 
bile, and one is at Norfolk. The last is doubtless 
the most formidable, being the United States steam 
frigate Merrimac, which has been so strengthened 
that in the opinion of the rebels she may be used 
as a ram. But we have not yet a single vessel at 
sea, nor, so far as I know, in course of construc- 
tion, able to cope at all with a well-built ram. If 
the Merrimac is permitted to escape from the 
Elizabeth River, she will be almost certain to com- 
mit great depredations on our armed and unarmed 
vessels in Hampton Roads. 

He continued by saying that he had in vain 
called the attention of the Navy Department 
to this fact and almost hesitated to allude to 
it again. 

On March 8th the Merrimac appeared, and, 
215 



216 The American Navy 

as Ellet predicted, wrought her work of havoc 
and destruction, that was only stayed by the 
timely appearance of the Monitor on the fol- 
lowing day. Upon this startling verification of 
his neglected admonitions Ellet was at once 
summoned to the War Department and, after a 
short conference with Mr. Stanton, received a 
commission as colonel in the army and was sent 
to St. Louis with full authority to purchase, re- 
fit, man, and command any number of vessels 
deemed necessary in his judgment to meet and 
defeat the fleet of ironclad rams then known to 
be building on the lower Mississippi River. 
Ellet hastened west and immediately com- 
menced his preparations, but in May, while his 
work was still in progress, news came that the 
Confederate river defence fleet had attacked our 
fleet of gunboats near Craighead's Point and 
had disabled two of them. 

Colonel Ellet, receiving most urgent telegrams 
from Stanton to hurry his rams forward, at once 
despatched five of them down the river under 
the command of his brother, Lieutenant Alfred 
W. Ellet, a young man nineteen years of age, 
who before the end of the war became a brig- 
adier-general of volunteers. These boats were 
still incomplete and work upon them continued 
as they proceeded to the scene of action. Upon 
the approach of the fleet Fort Pillow was evac- 
uated by the Confederates and all that stood 
between Flag Officer Charles H. Davis and 



Ellet's Steam Rams 217 

Memphis was the Confederate river defence 
fleet of eight vessels. Davis's fleet of five iron- 
clads included the Benton, Cairo, Carondelet, 
Louisville, and St. Louis. Ellet with the rams 
Queen of the West, Monarch, Lancaster, and 
Switzerland, proceeded down the river, until at 
dawn, June 6th, at a point a mile above Mem- 
phis, the report of a gun was heard from the 
Confederate vessels. 

Colonel Ellet was standing on the hurricane 
deck of the Queen at the time. He immediately 
sprang forward, waved his hat to attract the 
attention of his brother on board the Monarch, 
and loudly hailed : " It is a gun from the 
enemy! Round out and follow me! Now is 
our chance to go in and win ! " 

Ellet expected the three rams would follow 
his lead, but, by a misunderstanding of the sig- 
nals, the Lancaster was run on shore and her 
rudder became disabled, and the Switzerland re- 
mained behind, not participating in the engage- 
ment. Had these two rams taken their share in 
the fight, though the general result would not 
have been changed, it is not at all probable 
that a single ship of the enemy would have 
escaped. 

It was a beautiful morning, the air clear and 
perfectly still, just such another as the day when 
the Monitor joined issue with the Merrimac in 
Hampton Roads. By this time Flag Officer 
Davis's gunboats had opened fire on the enemy 



218 The American Navy 

and the reports of guns on both sides were loud 
and rapid. A heavy wall of smoke was formed 
hanging low across the river, so that the posi- 
tion of our vessels could only be seen by the 
flashes of their guns. Under a full head of 
steam the Queen plunged boldly right into this 
wall of smoke and was lost sight of, all but her 
tall pipes, which reached far above the smoke. 
The Monarch closely followed her leader, aim- 
ing for the General Price, which was on the 
right wing of the advancing Confederate line. 

The Queen, selecting the General Lovell as 
her prey, made directly for her in the centre 
of the line of battle. The Lovell tried to back 
out of the way, but in so doing presented her 
broadside to her antagonist, upon which the 
Queen plunged straightway into her exposed 
side. The crash was terrific : the LovelVs sides 
were crushed in as if made of pasteboard and 
the unfortunate vessel, cut almost in two, sank 
in the turgid waters of the Mississippi as she 
fired her last broadside. 

The water was at once full of swimming and 
drowning men, and the Benton, Davis's flagship, 
with splendid humanity, sent her boats, while 
the battle raged, to the assistance of the enemy. 
One of these boats was swamped in launching 
and two of the crew came near drowning. The 
tug Jessie also hastened to the rescue, but it was 
estimated that fully fifty of the LovelVs crew 
were drowned. The Monarch, meanwhile, had 



Ellet's Steam Rams 219 

struck the General Price a glancing blow, which 
cut her starboard wheel clean off, and disabled 
her from further participation in the fight. 

As soon as the Queen was free from the wreck 
of the sinking Lovell, she was attacked by two 
of the enemy's vessels, the Beauregard on one 
side, the Sumter on the other, and in the melee 
one of her wheels was disabled. At the same 
time Colonel Ellet, who was standing exposed 
on the hurricane deck, received a pistol-ball in 
his knee, but lying prone on the deck he ordered 
the Queen to be run, with her one wheel, to the 
bank of the river, where he received the sur- 
render of the General Price, upon her making 
the Arkansas shore. The Monarch meanwhile 
drove down the Beauregard with a well-directed 
blow, which crushed in her side, completely dis- 
abling her, and passed on to the Little Rebel, 
the Confederate flagship, which vessel, having 
already received from the Cairo's fire a shot 
through her steam drum, was endeavoring to 
escape. The Monarch pushed her hard and fast 
aground and then, turning her attention to the 
sinking Beauregard, took her in tow, made 
prisoners of her crew, and towed her to a bar, 
where she sank to her boiler deck and finally, 
became a total loss. 

It was then only that Lieutenant-Colonel 
Ellet learned that his gallant brother had been 
wounded. The characteristic orders he received 
from his disabled commander were : " Continue 



220 The American Navy 

the pursuit as long as there is any hope of over- 
taking the flying enemy ! " 

Flag Officer Davis's gunboats were, mean- 
while, gallantly doing their share of the work 
of the day. The higher speed of Ellet's rams 
enabled them to pass through the intervals in 
the Federal flotilla and the latter, coming after 
them, completed with their batteries the work 
which the rams had so successfully begun. Thus 
they secured the surrender of the General Bragg, 
after she was set on fire, and saved her. The 
Jeff Thompson burned and blew up with a tre- 
mendous report. The Van Dorn, sole survivor 
of the Confederate fleet, escaped to be afterward 
burned by the enemy in the Yazoo River, in 
order to prevent her falling into our hands. The 
Sumter had not been injured, but the hot fire 
of the Carondelet and the Louisville so discon- 
certed her pilot that he ran the vessel ashore 
on the Arkansas bank, where she was deserted 
by her crew. 

And so ended this spectacular combat that 
left the Mississippi open to our gunboats and 
to river commerce, during the remainder of the 
war, from Cairo to Vicksburg. 

Toward the close of the engagement Colonel 
Ellet, being informed that a white flag had been 
raised in Memphis, immediately sent his young 
son, Medical Cadet Charles Ellet, on shore with 
a party of three men and a flag of truce, to 
demand the surrender of the city. They landed 



Ellet's Steam Rams 221 

and delivered Colonel Ellet's despatch to the 
mayor and received his reply. Then, surrounded 
by an excited and threatening crowd, they pro- 
ceeded to the post-office, ascended to the roof, 
and while stoned and fired upon by the mob 
below, young Ellet lowered the Confederate 
colors and raised the Stars and Stripes over 
the city of Memphis. This incident occurred 
some hours before the formal surrender of the 
city by the mayor to Colonel G. N. Fitch. 

Colonel Ellet's wound was not at first con- 
sidered dangerous, but complications ensued and 
on June 18th, on board the Switzerland, he 
passed away, his devoted wife and young 
daughter being with him at the last. A state 
funeral was accorded his remains in Indepen- 
dence Hall, Philadelphia. 

The boats constituting the ram fleet of the 
Mississippi River were simply river steamers 
hurriedly strengthened and braced to sustain 
a severe shock. Colonel Ellet wrote to Sec- 
retary Stanton : " The boats I have purchased 
are illy adapted for the work I shall require 
of them; it is not their strength upon which 
I rely, but upon the audacity of our attack, 
for success." He did not rely on heavy ordnance ; 
at the battle of Memphis there were no firearms 
on board his rams, except a few short carbines 
and some revolvers: his reliance was upon the 
prows of his vessels. He desired, as far as pos- 
sible, to protect the vulnerable parts of his ship, 



222 The American Navy 

the boilers and engines, and, with simply enough 
men, as crew, to handle the boat with certainty 
and despatch, to run the gauntlet of any fire 
that could be precipitated upon him, and drive 
his ram deep into his adversary. At the Mem- 
phis fight not a splinter was raised from either 
of the rams, except the disabling of one wheel 
of the Queen, and not a man sustained the 
slightest injury except Colonel Ellet. 

The battle of Memphis was, in many respects, 
one of the most extraordinary naval victories 
on record. For two unarmed, frail, wooden 
river steamboats, with barely men enough on 
board to handle the machinery and keep the 
furnace fires going, to rush to the front between 
two hostile fleets, and into the enemy's advanc- 
ing line of eight protected, heavily armed and 
fully manned vessels, sinking one, disabling and 
capturing three, and carrying consternation to 
the others, was a sight never before witnessed. 
The opening gun from the Little Rebel was fired 
at 5.40 a.m., the rams engaged at 5.55, and the 
last gun from the Van Born, as she escaped at 
the end of the fight, was discharged at 6.43 a.m. 
This decisive battle thus lasted one hour and 
three minutes, nearly five thousand of the citi- 
zens of Memphis turning out, and crowding the 
levee, to witness the fight, the ladies in the as- 
semblage being nearly as numerous as the men. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE CAPTURE OF THE " HARRIET LANE " AT 
GALVESTON 

ONE of the most mortifying and disastrous 
reverses our naval forces encountered 
during the Civil War occurred in January, 1863, 
at Galveston, Texas. In June, 1862, the port 
of Galveston was evacuated by the Confederate 
forces and our naval and military authori- 
ties took possession. In December, the United 
States ships occupying Galveston harbor were 
the steamers Harriet Lane, Commander Richard 
Wainwright; West-field, Commander William B. 
Renshaw; Clifton, Lieutenant-Commander H. 
Wilson ; Sachem, A. V. Lieutenant A. Johnson ; 
with the armed schooners Velocity and Cory- 
plieus; the army transport Saxon; and the coal 
barks Elias Pike and Cavallo. The land force 
included three companies of the Massachusetts 
forty-second regiment, numbering three hundred 
and sixty men; certainly a very respectable 
combined force, and one that ought not to have 
been very easily dislodged. 

The fleet was anchored off Galveston in the 
narrow channel between Fort Point and Pelican 

Island. The troops were housed in buildings 

223 



224 The American Navy 

at the end of a long wharf, under the guns of 
the ships; the landward approach to their posi- 
tion was impeded by two lines of strong barri- 
cade and communication with the shore was 
further cut off by the removal of portions of 
the wharf in front of this obstruction. 

The Confederate army reports show that 
Major-General Magruder, C. S. A., secretly in- 
spected the position in December, and formu- 
lated a plan for the attack that was so 
successfully carried out the following month. 
Captain Leon Smith, a former Californian, was 
entrusted with the arrangements for the naval 
movement and he fitted up, at Houston, the 
steamers Bayou City and 'Neptune with bul- 
warks of cotton bales, built into their sides. 
The Bayou City was also armed with a rifled 
thirty-two-pounder, mounted on her bow. The 
Neptune carried two howitzers, and one hundred 
sharpshooters, detailed from two Texas regi- 
ments, were placed on board the two vessels. 
About midnight, on December 31st, these boats 
moved down to the bay, taking positions above 
the town, and waited for their co-operating land 
force to open the fight. 

At dawn of day on January 1, 1863, the first 
gun was fired on shore and the two boats at 
once steamed down for the Federal fleet. As 
they approached the Harriet Lane, swinging to 
her anchors with a strong ebb tide, the battle 
began, the first shot from the enemy striking 



The Capture of the ''Harriet Lane" 225 

her behind the wheelhouse. Captain Wier, in 
command of the Bayou City's bow gun, sighted 
it for a second shot, when one of the crew cried 
out : " Give them a New Year's present for 
me." 

Wier responded : " Well, here goes for your 
New Year's present," and, as he pulled the lock- 
string, the gun exploded, killing him and wound- 
ing several others. 

The Bayou City, under full head of steam, 
then struck the Lane a glancing blow, as she 
swung to the tide; the Neptune at the same 
time came up on the starboard side, getting in 
a severe blow; but, as she passed astern, a shot 
from the Harriet Lane struck the Neptune at 
the water-line, causing her to make water fast, 
and she sheered off to the channel and speedily 
sunk in eight feet of water. By this time the 
Bayou City had rounded to and with head up- 
stream ran again into the Lane, striking her 
fairly abaft the larboard wheel, running her 
bow so far under the gunwale and wheel that 
the two vessels held fast together. The rifle- 
men on the Confederate boat kept up a deadly 
fire, meanwhile, from behind the cotton bales 
upon the crew of their antagonist, until her 
deck became a scene of slaughter. 

The order to board was now given and the 
Confederates, led by Major Smith, swarmed on 
the deck of the Harriet Lane. Commander 
Wainwright fell, fighting hand to hand with 



226 The American Navy- 

Major Smith; Lieutenant Lea, the executive 
officer, was also killed, early in the fray, and 
Acting-Master W. F. Monroe was mortally 
wounded. It is not very strange, then, that the 
demoralized crew of the vessel, thus deprived of 
their officers, were quickly driven from the deck, 
taking refuge below. 

The Owasco, which had been anchored below 
the town, coaling, got under weigh as soon as 
the fight began, and moved up to the assist- 
ance of the Harriet Lane. Owing, however, to 
the narrowness of the channel she was, for some 
time, unable to bring her guns to bear on the 
enemy's vessels and, upon getting within range of 
them, her men were driven from her forward 
guns by the galling fire of the Confederate sharp- 
shooters, now on board the Harriet Lane. Every 
one of her rifle gun's crew, fifteen in all, were 
wounded and one was killed by this destruc- 
tive fire. Perceiving, therefore, that the Harriet 
Lane had been captured, the Owasco backed 
down below the Sachem and Corypheus. Before 
the Harriet Lane had been taken the Clifton 
went to the assistance of the Westfield, that had 
got ashore, and neither of these vessels succeeded 
in getting into action in time to be of aid to 
our captured steamer. 

In the end Commander Renshaw fired the 
Westfield to prevent her falling into the hands 
of the enemy and she blew up with a tremendous 
explosion. She was seen to part or burst out 



The Capture of the " Harriet Lane" 227 

forward, and when the smoke cleared away 
there was no sign of life about her. Renshaw 
perished in the destruction of his ship. The 
Clifton, the Owasco, and the two schooners were 
all of the fleet that escaped capture or destruc- 
tion. The loss of life included Commanders 
J. M. Wainwright and W. B. Renshaw, Lieu- 
tenant-Commander Edward Lea, Acting-Master 
W. F. Monroe, Lieutenant C. W. Zimmerman, 
and Engineer W. R. Greene. Three of the crew 
of the Harriet Lane and fourteen of the West- 
field were killed and five wounded, while one 
hundred were landed on shore as prisoners. On 
the Confederate side there were twelve killed, 
including Captain Wier, and seventy wounded. 

In the boarding party from the Bayou City 
was Dr. Holland, of Houston, who, some years 
before, had met Commander Wainwright, then 
the first lieutenant of the frigate Merrimac, at 
a dinner given by the authorities at South- 
ampton, England. The doctor never saw Wain- 
wright again alive, but, to his astonishment, in 
the dead body of the commander of the Harriet 
Lane, lying in his blood on her decks, he recog- 
nized his fellow-guest of years before. The son 
of Wainwright, a lad of twelve, was found, after 
the heat of the melee, weeping bitterly by the 
dead body of his father. 

Another melancholy encounter on the deck of 
the captured vessel was that of Major Lea, of 
the Confederate army, who found, in her dying 



228 The American Navy 

lieutenant, Edward Lea, his own son. His 
father knelt by him and the young man ex- 
pended nearly his last words in making arrange- 
ments for his wounded comrades. When told 
by the surgeon that he had but a few minutes 
to live and asked to express his wishes, he an- 
swered, " My father is here," and spoke not 
again. In company with his commander he 
was buried with appropriate honors. The re- 
mains of Commander Wainwright were removed 
to the North, soon after the war closed, but the 
grave of Lieutenant-Commander Lea can still be 
seen in the Episcopal cemetery at Galveston, 
covered with a plain marble block, inscribed: 

EDWARD LEA 

LIEUT.-COMMANDER U. S. N. 

BORN 31ST JANUARY 1837 

KILLED IN BATTLE JANUARY 1ST 1863 

" MY FATHER IS HERE." 

By an order, dated the very day of this en- 
gagement, January 1, 1863, Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Lea had been detached by Rear Admiral 
Farragut from the Harriet Lane and was di- 
rected to report at New Orleans for the com- 
mand of the mortar boats of the squadron. 

But disaster to our naval force at Galveston 
did not end with this affair. Ten days later a 
steamer appeared in the offing one evening and 
the U. S. S. Hatteras, which had been ordered 



The Capture of the " Harriet Lane " 229 

down by Farragut with the Brooklyn, under 
Commodore Bell, upon the receipt of the news 
of the Galveston affair, was sent out to in- 
vestigate the stranger. She proved to be the 
Confederate cruiser Alabama, Captain Raphael 
Semnies, who, after answering Commander Ho- 
mer C. Blake's hail with the reply, " This is Her 
Majesty's ship Yixen," suddenly changed to, 
" This is the Confederate ship Alabama," as he 
opened fire upon the Hatteras, at one hundred 
yards distance. After a brief engagement of 
twenty minutes, in which the Hatteras was re- 
peatedly hulled and set on fire in two places by 
exploding shells, she sunk in water so shallow 
that her mast heads remained above water. Cap- 
tain Blake and his crew were saved by Semmes, 
and were paroled and landed at Jamaica. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE DUEL BETWEEN THE " MONITOR " AND THE 
" MERRIMAC " 

THE most dramatic sea fight in our naval 
history, and, in its subsequent influence 
upon the naval warfare of the world, un- 
doubtedly the most momentous conflict of the 
nineteeth century, was the duel between the 
ironclads Merrlmac and Monitor, in Hampton 
Roads, on March 9, 1862. 

In April, 1861, at the outbreak of hostilities 
between the North and the South, the Federal 
authorities having decided to abandon the Nor- 
folk Navy Yard, the steam frigate Merrimao 
was scuttled, hastily fired, and sunk in shallow 
water, her upper works burning to the water's 
edge. Later the hulk was raised by the Con- 
federate authorities and taken into dry dock, 
where the central part of the hull, for something 
more than half of its length, was cut down to 
within three or four feet of the water-line, to 
form the gun-deck of a floating battery. The 
entire hull was then plated with iron to a depth 
of about six feet below the water-line. A case- 
mate of novel construction was built on this 
gun-deck and pine beams, a foot square and 

230 



The " Monitor " and " Merrimac " 231 

fifteen feet long, were placed side by side, like 
rafters, at an inclination of forty-five degrees, 
projecting over the sides of the vessel, like the 
eaves of a house, their ends dipping two feet 
below the water. Upon these beams were placed 
two layers of oak planks, four inches thick, one 
layer horizontal, the other vertical. This was 
first overlaid with bars of iron four and a half 
inches thick and afterward a layer of railroad 
iron was superimposed. The stem and the stern 
of the ram were then plated with steel, and the 
stem was also provided with an iron ram, capable 
of dealing a severe blow under water. Her 
armament was eight eleven-inch guns in broad- 
side, with two one-hundred-pound Armstrong 
guns mounted forward and aft. In consequence 
of the enormous weight of this protective armor 
the Merrimac was found, when she came out 
of dry dock, to have a draft of twenty-five feet, 
which, of course, prevented her from fighting 
in shallow water. A contemporary writer de- 
scribes this strange vessel, as she came ploughing 
through the water, as " looking like a half- 
submerged crocodile." 

On the 8th of March, 1862, the U. S. frigate 
Congress, 44, and the sloop-of-war Cumber- 
land, 24, were lying at anchor, just to the 
westward of Newport News Point, while at 
intervals up the roads toward Fortress Monroe 
were anchored the Minnesota, 54; the aS^. Law- 
rence, 50; the Brandywine, 50; and the Roan- 



232 The American Navy 

oke, 50, a fleet mounting over two hundred 
guns, with nearly two thousand men. By an 
unfortunate chance Commander William Brad- 
ford, of the Cumberland, was absent from his 
ship on court-martial duty, leaving Lieutenant 
George Upham Morris in charge. Commander 
William Smith, of the Congress, had also been 
detached, leaving Lieutenant Joseph B. Smith 
in charge. Paymaster McKean Buchanan, of 
the Congress, w T as the brother of Captain Frank- 
lin McKean Buchanan, of the Merrimac. 

It was an unusually beautiful spring morn- 
ing, bright and clear, the boats of the fleet were 
idly swinging at the ship's booms, the men's 
clothes were hanging to dry in the rigging. The 
Cumberland rode at single anchor, with her 
sails loosed for drying; it was a veritable 
picture of peaceful quiet in the bay. For sev- 
eral days there had been rumors in the fleet that 
the Merrimac, or the Virginia, as the Confed- 
erates had renamed the ship, was nearly ready 
for sea, but these stories, brought by escaping 
contrabands, being conflicting, they obtained 
scant credence. At 12.45 o'clock smoke was 
seen coming from a nondescript vessel running 
down the bay. The call to quarters immediately 
sounded, sails were furled, wash clothes came 
down, and the batteries were manned in readi- 
ness for action. 

The Merrimac steamed leisurely down past 
the Congress, at a distance of three hundred 



The "Monitor" and "Merrimac" 233 

yards, firing her bow gun at the frigate, which 
disabled every man but one at one of her guns, 
and receiving the combined broadsides of the 
Congress and Cumberland, the balls of which 
rattled from her iron sides like hail from a 
roof. This was the first actual test of the de- 
fensive power of the Confederate vessel, and 
nothing could have been more satisfactory to 
her commander. The Merrimac, scatheless after 
this terrific fire, now moved slowly across the 
bows of the Cumberland, manoeuvring for a po- 
sition to ram, meanwhile keeping up the fire of 
her forward guns upon the doomed ship. One 
shot passed through the starboard hammock 
netting, killing and wounding nine marines at 
an after gun, and for some time the ironclad 
monster, from a distance of about three hundred 
yards on the starboard bow, continued to rake 
the unfortunate Cumberland with every shot. 

This carnage continued for some time, not a 
man flinching from his post; the dead were 
carried over on the other side of the deck and 
their places were quietly taken by others, each 
man loading and firing as fast as the guns could 
be worked. After about fifteen minutes the 
Merrimac backed, then headed for the Cum- 
berland at full speed, striking her on the star- 
board bow, knocking two of her ports into one 
and driving her ram deep into the ship, below 
the water-line. Planks, beams, and knees gave 
way like laths before this blow, leaving a ragged 



234 The American Navy 

opening into which a man might have passed, 
and through which a torrent of water poured into 
the hold. Following the blow the Merrimac, 
with some considerable difficulty, backed out, 
having lost her ram, swung around broadside 
to the Cumberland and Captain Buchanan 
hailed, " Will you surrender? " 

" Never," replied Morris ; " I '11 sink alongside 
of you first." 

At this the ironclad reopened her fire. The 
first shot passed through the sick bay, killing 
five men, and the broadsides continued without 
cessation, each shot reaching a vital part. Sick 
bay, berth-deck, and gun-deck were soon covered 
with dead and wounded, while for half an hour 
the pumps of the Cumberland were constantly 
worked, in the vain hope of throwing out the 
water as fast as it rushed in through the yawn- 
ing chasm in her bow. The forward magazine 
was soon flooded, leaving the after magazine as 
the only supply for keeping up a defence. In 
thirty-five minutes the water had risen to the 
main hatchway and the ship keeled over, nearly 
ready to sink. The wounded on board were then 
removed from the cockpit to the upper deck. All 
this time the Cumberland kept up her fire, no 
gun being abandoned until the water, creeping 
up toward the stern from the sinking bow, 
drowned the gun's crews out. And during all 
this time but one man was seen on board the 
ironclad. Near the close of the fight he showed 



The "Monitor" and "Merrimac'' 235 

himself from a port, when a shot from the 
sinking ship cut him in two. 

By this time the Cumberland's deck was cov- 
ered with dead and wounded and slippery with 
blood, some of the guns were run in, as they 
had last been fired, many of them bespattered 
with blood, broken rammers and blackened 
sponges lay about in all directions. Still the 
survivors fought on, each man anxious for " one 
more shot." At last the order was given for 
every man to look out for himself. Even then, 
as the waters closed over the Cumberland, the 
last gun was heard. It was fired, half under 
water, by Matthew Tenney, from a gun just 
awash. The gallant fellow attempted to scramble 
out of the open porthole abreast of him, but the 
water rushing in swept him back and he went 
down in the sinking vessel, in fifty-four feet of 
water. The survivors of the crew succeeded in 
swimming ashore. 

The Merrimac now steamed toward the Con- 
gress and, taking position one hundred and fifty 
yards astern of the frigate, raked her fore and 
aft with shell, the fuses cut short, so that each 
one exploded inside the ship. The first shot 
killed seventeen men at a single gun and during 
all the engagement hardly a man was merely 
wounded; most were killed outright, the head 
or shoulder being shorn off, or the body cut in 
twain. Surgical aid was useless, and, after the 
first fifteen or twenty minutes, the surgeon did 



236 The American Navy 

not even pretend to amputate a limb. The most 
be could do was to apply a tourniquet to stop 
bleeding and administer stimulants to prevent 
prostration. " The only insignificant wound 
which I dressed," he said, " was that of a man 
who had his hand taken off ! " 1 

The Congress, being fast aground, could meet 
the terrible broadsides of the Merrimac only 
from her two stern guns. These were soon dis- 
abled, one being dismounted, while the other 
had its muzzle shot off. Lieutenant Smith, in 
temporary charge, being killed, the command de- 
volved upon Lieutenant Prendergast, who, at 4 
p.m., finding that not a gun could be brought to 
bear upon his antagonist, and that his ship was 
disabled and on fire in several places, while the 
Minnesota and Roanoke, three miles distant, 
were fast aground, reluctantly ordered the colors 
of the Congress hauled down and surrendered to 
Lieutenant Parker of the Merrimac. The iron- 
clad's tenders took about thirty prisoners from 
the Congress, but the shore batteries, keeping up 
their fire, drove the Confederates off and the 
remainder of the crew swam on shore before the 
Congress blew up. When the veteran Com- 
modore Joseph Smith, on " Black Sunday " in 
Washington, heard that the Congress had sur- 

1 About this time Captain Buchanan of the Merrimac 
was wounded by a rifle-ball and had to be carried below 
and the command of the Confederate ram devolved upon 
Lieutenant Catesby A. P. R. Jones, her executive officer. 



The " Monitor " and " Merrimac " 237 

rendered, his first words were : " Then Joe 's 
dead. He '11 never surrender his ship." It was 
so: his son died early in the action, struck in 
the chest by a shell fragment. 

The low tide prevented the Merrimac from 
getting within range of the Minnesota and the 
other vessels of the Federal fleet, so at seven 
o'clock she withdrew to Sewall's Point, her com- 
mander evidently satisfied with the results thus 
far accomplished. 

In the whole history of the American navy 
there had been no such record of disaster or 
of sacrifice for the honor of the flag as was 
shown in this sad day's work — a frigate and 
a sloop-of-war destroyed, with a loss of two hun- 
dred and fifty officers and men killed, drowned, 
and wounded, while three other frigates were 
huddled aground under the guns of Fortress 
Monroe to avert destruction. And all this ac- 
complished in an afternoon by a single vessel 
with but two of her men killed and eight 
wounded! The dread news of the combat was 
telegraphed all over the Northern States that 
Saturday night, and the most gloomy appre- 
hension of what might occur the next day 
prevailed. 

But the tables were soon to be turned. About 
nine o'clock that night Ericsson's Monitor, af- 
ter a stormy passage from New York, entered 
Hampton Roads and anchored. A new and 
as yet untried antagonist had appeared upon 



238 The American Navy 

the scene, whose powers were yet to be tested. 

Seen at a distance she appeared an insig- 
nificant and far from a formidable craft. Lying 
low in the water, she might have been taken 
for a raft, having nothing above board but a 
round turret amidships, a small pilot-house for- 
ward, and a diminutive funnel aft. But it was 
on board that her real strength was shown. Her 
armor was five inches thick and she had prac- 
tically two hulls, the lower having sides inclin- 
ing at an angle of fifty-one degrees from the 
vertical line. The turret, revolved by steam 
power, was an iron cylinder nine feet high, 
twenty feet in diameter, eight or nine inches 
thick and about the portholes eleven inches in 
thickness. The armament was two eleven-inch 
Dahlgren guns, which ran in for loading. Her 
propeller was hidden beneath a hood. 

As soon as Lieutenant Worden anchored and 
heard the news of the disastrous conflict that 
had occurred that day, he began active prepara- 
tions for battle; the ship was cleared for action, 
and by the light of the burning Congress the 
Monitor steamed up the bay and reported to 
Captain Marston of the Roanoke. Marston had 
received orders to send the Monitor to Wash- 
ington, but, in view of the present exigency, he 
wisely disregarded these orders and directed 
Worden to anchor close to the Minnesota, which 
was still aground, and to be prepared to protect 
her. 



The "Monitor" and "Merrimac" 239 

The already almost exhausted officers of the 
Monitor worked all that night in making ready 
for the morrow's fight, but when at eight o'clock 
on Sunday morning the Merrimac was seen 
steaming down toward the Minnesota to finish 
her uncompleted work, they cheerfully went 
to quarters, eager for the fray and very con- 
fident of victory. 

Never were antagonists apparently so un- 
equally matched. The Monitor was only one 
fifth the size of her antagonist and appeared 
even smaller, for she presented to sight nothing 
but her flat deck, just above the water, and her 
low, square pilot-house and circular turret. 

As the Merrimac came within range, heading 
for the Minnesota, Captain Van Brunt opened 
upon the ironclad with all his broadside guns 
and the ten-inch pivot-gun, " a broadside," as he 
said, " which would have blown out of the water 
any timber-built ship in the world," but it was 
absolutely ineffectual. In return the Merrimac 
fired one of her terrible seven-inch shells, which 
went crashing through the Minnesota amid- 
ships, tearing four rooms into one on the 
berth-deck, and starting a fire. The Monitor, 
meanwhile, steamed out and challenged the 
Confederate ram to combat. 

The Merrimac opened upon her new antagonist 
at once with all her guns, the shots flying over 
the low deck. A few struck the turret; but all, 
except one, glanced off, leaving hardly a mark. 



240 The American Navy 

One one-hundred-pound rifle bolt struck fair and 
square, penetrating half through the nine inches 
of iron and breaking off, leaving the head stick- 
ing in the wound. 

The speed of the two vessels was about equal, 
but the Monitor's light draught gave her an ad- 
vantage in choosing her fighting ground. Once 
the Merrimac grounded and the Monitor steamed 
round and round her foe trying bow, stern, and 
sides in search of a vulnerable point. Her shots, 
however, even at point blank, in striking the 
sloping sides of the Merrimac glanced off 
harmlessly. 

The Confederate vessel, getting afloat again, 
and finding her antagonist invulnerable, now 
turned her attention to the Minnesota and bore 
down upon the frigate, head on, receiving the 
full broadside of fifty solid shot without any 
damage, but replying with a single shell from 
her rifled bow-gun, which went through the 
boiler of the tug Dragon, which lay alongside 
the Minnesota, blowing her up and killing and 
wounding seven men. 

The Monitor now interposed, compelling the 
Merrimac to shift her position, and she steamed 
down the bay toward deeper water, closely fol- 
lowed by the Monitor. Reaching the desired 
position, she turned sharp around, and ran at 
full speed against her little antagonist, but the 
iron prow, which had crashed through the stout 
frame of the Cumberland, left scarcely a mark 



The " Monitor" and "Merrimac" 241 

on the armored side of the Monitor, upon whose 
turret and pilot-house she now unavailingly 
concentrated her fire. 

The crucial moment for the anxious observers 
of this mighty duel from the decks of the Min- 
nesota came when, at 4.45 p.m., the Merrimac 
was seen to turn and, accompanied by her ten- 
ders, the Patrick Henry and Jamestown, head 
up the bay apparently for the Minnesota. It 
was, therefore, a great and unexpected relief 
when it was found that the Confederate ves- 
sels had no intention of continuing the fight, 
but were making for their refuge at Craney 
Island. 

Such, in brief, was the memorable fight of the 
Monitor and Merrimac, which, if estimated solely 
by the actual loss inflicted or suffered by the 
combatants in the first contest between iron- 
clads, would be described as a harmless duel. 
No man on board the Merrimac, it was affirmed, 
was injured by the heavy shot of the Monitor 
or the terrific broadsides of the Minnesota. On 
the Federal side Lieutenant Worden was look- 
ing from a narrow loop-hole in the turret, when 
at 11.30 a shot from the Merrimac struck square 
against the pilot-house and fragments of cement 
were driven into his face, blinding him and 
forcing him to give up the command to Lieu- 
tenant Green. Other than Worden no man was 
seriously harmed on board the Monitor. 

The Monitor and the Merrimac, exposed to 
16 



242 The American Navy 

this terrible ordeal, both proved themselves 
invulnerable against any fire which had ever 
before been brought to bear by one ship against 
another. The conclusion was inevitable that 
wooden ships were to be of no further use in 
naval warfare and that the great navies of 
the world had been practically annihilated. 

The Monitor and Merrimac never again tried 
their strength against each other. For a month 
they lay, one in the lower roads, the other at 
the mouth of the Elizabeth River; the Monitor 
occasionally going up toward the river for ob- 
servation, but always drawing back when her 
enemy appeared. 

The two governments recognized that it would 
be unwise to risk losing their main defence. If 
the Merrimac was taken the water approach to 
Richmond would be in the hands of the Federals. 
If the Monitor was disabled Hampton Roads 
would be in the power of the Confederates. All 
the movements of the rival ironclads were there- 
fore feints, with no definite object. It was a 
relief, then, when on the 11th of May Com- 
mander Tatnall, then in command of the Merri- 
mac, learning of the abandonment of Norfolk 
by the Confederate authorities, ran the ram 
ashore and set her on fire, fore and aft; after 
burning fiercely for an hour she blew up. So 
entire was the destruction of the noted vessel 
that no fragment was ever discovered of sufficient 
size to enable any one to describe the details 



The " Monitor" and " Merrimac " 243 

of her construction. The Merrimac, said Tat- 
nall, in his report, " no longer exists." 

On December 29, 1862, while in tow of the 
steamer Rhode Island, the Monitor sank off Cape 
Hatteras in a very heavy gale. The boats from 
the Rhode Island succeeded in taking off most 
of her officers and men, Commander Bankhead 
being the last man to leave the sinking ship. 
The last seen of the Monitor was at midnight 
when she drifted away, the red light gleaming 
from her turret. She must have gone down a 
few minutes after, carrying with her twelve of 
the sixty-five men on board. The Monitor was 
lost just eleven months from the day she was 
launched. 

Mr. Thomas Dudley, who at the time of the 
battle between the Monitor and Merrimac was 
United States consul at Liverpool, expressed 
the following deliberate opinion : " This fight 
between these two ships did more to preserve 
the peace between England and the United 
States than any other event that took place 
during the war." The Count of Paris, in his 
History of the War, refers to the action as " the 
naval combat which marks the greatest and most 
sudden of all revolutions that have been effected 
in the science of maritime warfare." Admiral 
Columb, an officer of the English navy who has 
given much time and study to the subject of 
naval warfare, declared that " in the American 
Civil War the deciding battle was that fought 



244 The American Navy 

between the Monitor and the Merrirnac, and no 
one can doubt," he adds, " that if the Merrirnac 
had gained the victory there would scarcely 
now be the United States of America. The 
fate of that nation was determined then and 
there." 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS BY FARRAGUT 

AFTER the series of unfortunate events that 
marked the campaigns in Virginia in the 
summer of 1861, the National Administration, 
fully aware that the loyal North required sub- 
stantial victories, raised large armies and vastly 
increased the naval establishment. On the upper 
Mississippi a flotilla was speedily organized, un- 
der the able direction of Flag Officer A. H. 
Foote, who soon gained decisive victories in 
co-operation with the army, under Brigadier 
General Ulysses S. Grant, at Forts Henry and 
Donelson. 

But the authorities justly felt that the cap- 
ture of New Orleans was the most important 
step toward opening up the Mississippi River, 
which, from above Memphis to the Gulf of 
Mexico, was still in the possession of the Con- 
federates. It has been said, on good authority, 
that in selecting an officer to command the pro- 
posed expedition against New Orleans, the 
qualifications of various officers were secretly 
discussed at Washington and the choice grad- 
ually dwindled down to three. Secretary Welles 
claimed the credit of selecting Farragut, and 

245 



246 The American Navy 

Commander Porter was sent, as a friendly in- 
termediary, to ascertain whether the service 
would be agreeable to him. 

The result was that Farragut was ordered to 
report in person at Washington and he obeyed 
the summons with alacrity. Among his papers 
a brief note to his wife, dated December 21, 1861, 
appears, which reads: 

Keep your lips closed and burn my letters; for 
perfect silence is to be observed — the first injunc- 
tion of the Secretary. I am to have a Flag in the 
Gulf and the rest depends upon myself. Keep 
calm and silent. I shall sail in three weeks. 

On February 2, 1862, Farragut sailed from 
Hampton Roads in the steam-sloop Hartford, 
which was destined to be his home for the re- 
mainder of the war and to bear him safely 
through severe trials and dangers to the termi- 
nation of the great struggle. General Ben- 
jamin F. Butler, commanding the military 
force designed to co-operate with Farragut's 
fleet, sailed from Hampton Roads, on February 
20th, with fifteen thousand men, in transports, 
arriving at Ship Island, the rendezvous of the 
expedition, March 20th. 

At a point about thirty miles above the head 
of the Passes of the Mississippi River, the low- 
est favorable locality for defence before reach- 
ing the Gulf, the United States Government had 
erected two forts, St. Philip on the left or north 



The Capture of New Orleans 247 

bank, and Jackson a little farther down stream 
on the right. In 1815 a single fort at this point 
had held the British fleet in check for nine days, 
though they threw into it more than a thousand 
shells. But in the present defences Fort Jack- 
son, with its water battery, mounted seventy-five 
guns and St. Philip about forty. These guns in- 
cluded columbiads, mortars, and rifled pieces, but 
were mostly smooth-bore thirty-two-pounders. 
The works were garrisoned by about fifteen hun- 
dred men, commanded by Brigadier General 
J. K. Duncan. Just above the fort lay a Con- 
federate fleet of fifteen vessels, including the 
ironclad ram Manassas and the Louisiana, an im- 
mense floating battery covered with railroad 
iron. Just below Fort Jackson a chain was 
stretched across the river, supported at intervals 
by small dismasted vessels. A company of 
sharpshooters ranged up and down both banks 
to give the forts intelligence of the movements 
of our fleet. 

To accomplish his task of breaking through 
the obstructions, passing through between the 
forts, and conquering the Confederate fleet, 
Farragut had six sloops-of-war, sixteen gun- 
boats, a mortar flotilla of twenty-one schooners, 
each carrying a thirteen-inch mortar, and five 
other auxiliary vessels. The fleet carried over 
two hundred guns and was by far the most 
powerful naval expedition that had, up to that 
time, ever sailed under our flag. General Butler 



248 The American Navy 

had, as said, on board his transports fifteen 
thousand men to hold whatever Farragut might 
capture. 

The mortar fleet, under the immediate com- 
mand of Commander Porter, was lined upon the 
right side of the river, close to the banks, their 
mastheads concealed by green boughs. On the 
18th of April they opened fire, throwing shells 
weighing two hundred and eighty-five pounds 
into Fort Jackson, on which their fire was con- 
centrated. For six days and nights this fire 
was kept up unremittingly, throwing nearly six 
thousand shells, but the main result, whicli 
Commander Porter had anticipated, the break- 
ing in of the casemates and dismounting the 
guns of the fort, was not accomplished. 

During these six days Farragut's patience was 
sorely tried. He never had much faith in the 
mortars, and now he determined to try his own 
method. He had already issued general orders 
to his commanders to prepare their ships in 
every way possible for the supreme test of run- 
ning the batteries, and he now issued the final 
orders, giving the programs of sailing for the 
different ships. 

On the night of April 21st, Lieutenant C. H. 
B. Caldwell was sent up in the Itasca, accom- 
panied by the Pinola, Lieutenant Crosby, under 
command of Commander H. H. Bell, to cut the 
chain which was stretched across the river. The 
Pinola had the inventor of a new submarine 



The Capture of New Orleans 249 

petard on board, which he placed under one of 
the hulks, but in endeavoring to explode it the 
wire broke and it was useless. Lieutenant Cald- 
well then coolly boarded one of the hulks and, 
knocking out the pin, unshackled the chain, let 
it slip, and the passage was opened. This bold 
feat was performed under a very heavy fire from 
the first, but fortunately no one was injured. 

Farragut had intended to lead the column of 
ships in the Hartford in passing the forts, but 
in the final disposition he gave up that post to 
Captain Theodorus Bailey, at his own earnest 
request, who hoisted his own red flag on the 
gunboat Cayuga. The order of sailing was to 
be as follows : first division — Cayuga, Pensacola, 
Mississippi, Oneida, Varuna, Kathadin, Kineo, 
Wissahickon; centre division — Hartford, Brook- 
lyn, Richmond; third division — Sciota, Iroquois, 
Kennebec, Pinola, Itasca, Winona. As early as 
April 6th Farragut had reconnoitred the forts 
in broad daylight, going up within gunshot of 
Jackson in the Kennebec, where he sat in the 
cross-trees, glass in hand, till the Confederate 
gunners began to get the range of his ship. The 
attempt to pass the forts, it was finally decided, 
should be made in the night of April 23d to 
24th, and, as the moon would rise about half-past 
three in the morning, the fleet was warned to 
expect the signal for sailing about two o'clock. 
On the 23d the forts hardly fired a shot all 
day, although Porter kept up a terrific bombard- 



250 The American Navy 

ment from the mortar fleet. Soon after mid- 
night the hammocks were brought up and stowed 
in the nettings and the work of clearing the 
ships for action began. At five minutes before 
two the silent signal to weigh anchor — two ordi- 
nary red lights at the peak of the flagship — was 
displayed, but it was half-past three before all 
the ships were aweigh. 

The Confederates had now become aware that 
a movement was in progress, and blazing rafts 
and bonfires illuminated the scene as Porter's 
gunboats and the Portsmouth moved up stream 
to engage the batteries in advance of the 
fleet. Captain Bailey's division of eight ves- 
sels led off, passing through the opening made 
in the cable the night before, and both forts 
promptly opened on the Cayuga as she passed 
the hulks. In five minutes she was pour- 
ing grape and cannister into St. Philip, and 
in ten minutes she had passed out of range 
of that work and found herself surrounded by 
eleven Confederate gunboats. Three of these 
attempted to board her at once, but an eleven- 
inch shot, at close range, was sent through one 
of them and the disabled vessel immediately ran 
aground and burned up. The Parrott rifle on 
the forecastle drove off another vessel, and 
Bailey was preparing to close with a third, 
when the Oneida and Varuna came up to the 
assistance of the Cayuga. The Oneida, un- 
der a full head of steam, ran into one of the 



The Capture of New Orleans 251 

enemy's boats, cutting her nearly in two, 
and left her to float down stream a help- 
less wreck. Firing right and left into the 
others, the Oneida then went to the assistance 
of the Yaruna, which was ashore on the left 
bank of the river, sore beset by the Governor 
Moore and another Confederate steamer. The 
Yaruna, rammed by them both, sank in fifteen 
minutes, but not until she had so crippled the 
Governor Moore that she surrendered to the 
Oneida. 

The Pensacola steamed steadily and slowly 
by the forts, using her eleven-inch pivot gun and 
rifled eighty-pounder with deadly effect, and re- 
ceiving a terrific fire in return, as her loss of 
thirty-seven men fully indicated. The Missis- 
sippi was more fortunate and escaped with 
small loss. After passing Jackson, she en- 
countered the ram Manassas. In a brief en- 
counter she disabled her adversary and, after 
riddling her with solid shot, boarded the vessel, 
set her on fire, and sent her drifting down the 
river, where she blew up. The smaller gun- 
boats of Bailey's division passed the forts 
without serious damage or loss of life. 

At 4.30 a.m. the Hartford, in attempting to 
avoid a fire-raft, grounded on a shoal near St. 
Philip. At the same time, the ram Manassas 
pushed a fire-raft up under her port quarter and, 
in an instant, the flagship was on fire. A part 
of her crew immediately went to fire quarters 



252 The American Navy 

and subdued the flames, while the working of 
her guns was steadily continued and the ship 
was backed off into deeper water, her head 
turning down stream. With some difficulty the 
Hartford was again turned against the current 
and she continued on up the river, firing 
broadsides into the enemy's vessels, as they ap- 
peared, and into Fort Jackson, as it came into 
range. The Brooklyn ran over one of the hulks, 
and, becoming entangled in the raft, suffered a 
raking fire from Jackson. She was also butted 
by the Manassas, which seemed ubiquitous that 
morning, and was finally engaged by the Con- 
federate steamer Warrior. This was an un- 
fortunate encounter for the enemy, for the 
Brooklyn planted eleven five-second shells in 
her antagonist, all of which exploded, setting 
the vessel on fire, and she was run ashore. The 
Richmond, a slow ship, steamed steadily along, 
giving and receiving a steady succession of 
broadsides from forts and ships and preserving 
her place in line until the forts were passed 
and the signal was made from the flagship: 
" Anchor and go to breakfast." The third divi- 
sion of gunboats did excellent work in passing 
the forts, but the Itasca, receiving a shot in her 
boiler in front of Jackson, was compelled to 
turn down stream; the Kennebec became en- 
tangled in the raft and was delayed until too 
late to pass the forts, and the Winona was also 
forced to return, being delayed by the rafts. 



The Capture of New Orleans 253 

And so the victory was won and a feat was 
accomplished thus far unparalleled in naval 
warfare. Starting with seventeen wooden ves- 
sels, Farragut had passed with all but three of 
them, against the swift current of a river but 
half a mile wide, between two powerful forts 
and a formidable water battery garrisoned by 
fifteen hundred men, his course impeded by 
blazing fire-rafts, and by a fleet of fifteen ves- 
sels, two of them ironclad. He had captured or 
destroyed all of the opponents, and had accom- 
plished all this with the loss of but one of his 
smaller gunboats. The total loss of life in the 
fleet in this great battle was thirty-seven killed 
and one hundred and forty-seven wounded. 

Farragut at once pushed on up the river, to 
the Quarantine ground, where the fleet anchored, 
meanwhile sending Captain Boggs, of the ill- 
fated Varuna, in a boat through the bayous in 
the rear of St. Philip down the river to com- 
municate with General Butler and Commander 
Porter and request them to get the troops up 
to New Orleans as speedily as possible. 

When the sun rose on the Federal fleet on 
the morning after the fight, it shone on smiling 
faces, even among those who were suffering from 
their wounds. Farragut received the ardent 
congratulations of his commanding officers, who 
flocked on board the Hartford in response to 
the signal from the flagship, with the same quiet 
imperturbability that he had exhibited through 



254 The American Navy 

the eventful battle. While he showed deep feel- 
ing for the men of his fleet who had been killed 
or wounded, he did not allow time to be wasted 
in vain regrets, but had the general signal made, 
" After breakfast push on to New Orleans," so 
intent were his thoughts upon following up his 
glorious victory to the end. 

The present writer, then a young division and 
watch officer on board the Richmond, obtained 
permission from Captain Alden of that ship to 
go on shore at the Quarantine station, abreast 
of which our ship was anchored, and haul down 
a large Confederate flag that was insolently dis- 
played from a tall flagpole at the camp. Just 
as my armed boat was shoving off from the ship 
Captain Alden hailed me and said : " You had 
better first stop at the flagship and obtain the 
flag officer's permission, before you go on shore." 

Accordingly I steered for the Hartford, then 
anchored on our port bow, and was shown down 
into the cabin just as Commander Charles S. 
Boggs was coming up from his interview with 
the flag officer in which he had given him the 
particulars of the destruction of his ship, the 
Yaruna, by the Confederate gunboats the night 
before. Farragut was pacing up and down in 
his cabin with a very thoughtful face, as I was 
shown in. His face brightened, however, as 
with youthful eagerness I delivered my message. 

" Why, certainly, Mr. H ," he responded 

cheerfully, " go ahead and pull down all the 



The Capture of New Orleans 255 

rebel flags you can find, and then make my 
compliments to Captain Alden, give him my 
hearty congratulations, and tell him to be all 
ready to get under way to go up the river 
after breakfast." I pulled ashore and secured 
my coveted flag, and in addition, to my very 
great surprise, received the surrender of a party 
of officers of the Louisiana Home Guards, sta- 
tioned at the Quarantine, who, indeed, seemed 
only too glad to thus find an easy and honor- 
able termination to their term of service. Turn- 
ing the bundle of officers' swords, which I found 
rather an impediment, over to Captain Broome, 
of the Marine Corps, who came on shore with 
a detail of marines a little later, I returned to 
my ship with my Confederate flag still in my 
possession. 

The fleet steamed up the river during the day, 
greeted from time to time, as we passed the 
plantations, by groups of curious negroes on the 
river bank who stealthily signalled congratula- 
tions to us. The planters' houses displayed very 
conspicuously from their porches large white 
sheets or table-cloths, evidently intended as flags 
of truce. At dark the fleet anchored, but soon 
after midnight a great blaze of light being seen 
up the river, the vessels got under way, fearing 
an attack by fire-rafts, of which we had had so 
much unpleasant experience before passing the 
forts, but they did not materialize. At six 
o'clock in the morning a large steamer, loaded 



256 The American Navy 

to the guards with cotton and all ablaze, came 
drifting down stream and an hour later two 
other boats in the same condition passed. 

About eleven o'clock we sighted Chalmette, 
four miles below the city, where we had been 
informed heavy batteries had been placed on 
both banks, and having in mind memories of 
Jackson's defence of the city from this point in 
1814, we were quite prepared for some warm 
work. The Brooklyn was in the advance and 
at the first shot from the enemy she opened 
with her eighty-pound Dahlgren gun, firing 
twenty-one shells into the battery on the left 
bank and a couple of broadsides into that on 
the right bank, which was supplemented by a 
few shells from the flagship, upon which the 
enemy's batteries, such as they were, were 
evacuated. 

The fleet then steamed quietly on to the city, 
passing close to the levees, which were swarm- 
ing with a howling and infuriated mob of both 
sexes waving Confederate flags and calling out 
abusive names to the ships as they passed. Just 
as the vessels arrived abreast of the Custom 
House, and anchored in a line off Canal Street, 
a torrent of rain came pouring down from the 
heavens, accompanied by rumbling thunder and 
vivid flashes of lightning, which for a short time 
somewhat thinned the menacing crowd. As we 
anchored, burning steamers, barges, and vessels 
loaded with cotton came drifting down, blazing 



The Capture of New Orleans 257 

with fire. Among them was the very formidable 
Confederate ironclad Mississippi, just fired by 
order of General Lovell, to prevent her from 
falling into our hands. The sole purpose of the 
mob seemed to be destruction, and thousands of 
bales of cotton and hogsheads of sugar on the 
levee were given to the flames to gratify their 
insensate wrath. 

The story of the subsequent negotiations for 
the surrender of New Orleans reads like a grim 
farce, which might at any moment have been 
turned into a tragedy; for all the time they 
were going on, the furious mob, and the city 
which sheltered it, lay at the absolute mercy of 
the guns of the Union fleet. 

Soon after noon of the 25th, Farragut de- 
spatched Captain Theodorus Bailey, his second 
in command, with Lieutenant George EL Per- 
kins, in a boat bearing a message to the chief 
authorities, whoever they might be, demanding 
the surrender of the city. The two officers 
stepped ashore, amidst deafening cheers for " Jeff 
Davis and the South " and groans for " Lin- 
coln and the Federal fleet " from the howling 
mob. 

Captain Bailey, who was perfectly self- 
possessed amidst the clamor, ordered the boat 
to lay off a short distance from the levee, where 
it was to wait his return, and Lieutenant Per- 
kins asked from one of the most respectable of 
the crowd to be directed to the City Hall. 



258 The American Navy 

After some delay a person was at last found 
who consented to act as guide and, surrounded 
by the angry mob, the two officers made their 
way, with considerable difficulty, to the City 
Hall. After the exchange of formal salutations, 
Captain Bailey announced to the mayor that he 
had come from Flag Officer Farragut to demand 
the surrender of the city and the hoisting of 
the American flag upon the public buildings. 
Mayor Munroe, a weak man, declared that he 
had no authority to surrender, as General Lovell 
was the military commander, and as for himself, 
he declined to pull down the Confederate flag 
or to hoist the American flag. 

After some little time passed in rather acri- 
monious conversation, General Lovell came in 
and he was introduced by the mayor to Captain 
Bailey, who again announced his errand. Lovell, 
however, declined to surrender the city: he said 
that he had evacuated New Orleans with his 
troops; it was defenceless and, he added, "Far- 
ragut could shell the city if he chose." The 
general thereupon retired, leaving the city au- 
thorities to take such course as they thought 
proper. The result of the interview therefore 
was that Captain Bailey had to return to report 
to Farragut that there was no one on shore will- 
ing to surrender the city. Colonel W. S. Lovell 
and one or two other of the Confederate gen- 
eral's staff, who were present during the inter- 
view, very courteously escorted the Union officers 



The Capture of New Orleans 259 

to the landing, followed at a discreet distance 
by the mob, which was somewhat restrained, as 
they neared the levee, by the frowning guns of 
the Pensacola, that with ports triced up had 
anchored close inshore, near the foot of Canal 
Street, and whose starboard broadside battery 
was manned ready to level destruction upon the 
crowd in the event of any overt act being 
perpetrated. 

Farragut w r as both amused and puzzled by the 
report of Captain Bailey, but he decided to wait 
one day for further developments. The next 
morning, Saturday, April 25th, a boat came off 
an hour after daylight with a message from 
Mayor Munroe. The bearers were his private 
secretary, Mr. Marion A. Baker, who as a boy 
had been known to Farragut, and Mr. McClel- 
land, chief of police. The purport of the mis- 
sive was a notice that the City Council would 
meet at ten o'clock that day and that the Federal 
commander should at once be apprised of the 
result of their deliberations. Farragut replied 
by the same messenger that he had come to re- 
duce New Orleans to obedience to the laws of 
the United States. The city must be sur- 
rendered, all hostile flags must be hauled down, 
and that of the United States must be hoisted 
on all public buildings by noon ; there must be 
no more outrages upon loyal people, and the 
rights of persons and property must be secured. 

This message produced no tangible results, and 



260 The American Navy 

the next morning, May 26th, the flag officer sent 
Lieutenant Albert Kautz, with Midshipman John 
H. Eead and a guard of twenty marines, under 
command of Second Lieutenant George Heisler, 
to deliver a formal demand for the surrender of 
the city. The boat landed on the levee in front 
of a howling mob, more violent and boisterous 
even than the day before, which thronged the 
river front as far as the eye could reach. On 
landing, Lieutenant Kautz had the marines draw 
up in line and attempted to reason with the 
mob, but soon found it an impossible task. He 
then thought to clear the way by bringing the 
marines to an aim, but women and children 
were at once shoved to the front, while the angry 
crowd behind cried, " Shoot, you d — d Yankees ; 
shoot!" 

Fortunately at this moment Lieutenant Kautz 
espied an officer of the City Guards, whom he 
hailed and told that he had a message for the 
mayor which he wished to deliver. The Con- 
federate officer begged him to leave the marines 
on the levee, for he felt sure that to march them 
through the streets of the city at that time 
would provoke a conflict. Kautz prudently 
yielded to the advice of the officer and sent the 
marines back to the ship, retaining only one non- 
commissioned officer with a musket. 

Tying his handkerchief, as a flag of truce, on 
the bayonet, Lieutenant Kautz, with Midship- 
man Read and one man, then took up their 



The Capture of New Orleans 261 

inarch for the City Hall, accompanied by a 
crowd jeering and " cursing in three languages," 
as the young middy who accompanied him after- 
ward stated to his comrades at the mess-table. 

The mayor, through his counsel Hon. Pierre 
Soule, again declined to surrender the city 
formally, but the learned counsel astutely re- 
marked " as the navy had the force, they could 
of course take possession." Meanwhile the 
crowd outside the City Hall increased in num- 
bers, howled and stormed and was gradually 
becoming more violent and difficult to restrain. 
Above the din intermittent cries were heard in- 
viting " the — Yankees " to " come out and be 
run up to lamp-posts ! " At this juncture Mr. 
Soule, who was manifestly growing nervous, 
suggested to Lieutenant Kautz that it would 
save trouble to all concerned if he would take 
his party to the levee in a carriage from the 
rear exit of the City Hall. It was proposed 
that Mr. Marion Baker, the mayor's secretary, 
should go with the officers in the carriage while 
Mr. Soule addressed the mob from the front 
entrance. He did not hope to have the mob 
obey him, he said, but he believed he could hold 
their attention with his fiery eloquence long 
enough for the carriage to get to the landing, 
by the back streets, unmolested. 

The stratagem succeeded and the rapidly- 
driven carriage reached the levee and the officers 
entered their waiting boat before their baffled 



262 The American Navy 

and infuriated pursuers came up with them. 
Few persons ever knew what an important 
service Mr. Soule thus rendered to New Orleans. 

Ear ly on the morning of the 26th, a boat's 
crew from the Pensacola raised a flag over the 
Mint, and unwisely left it without a guard for 
its protection. On the following day, Sunday, 
27th, while, in accordance with a general order 
from Farragut, the ships of the fleet were at 
divine service and offering up " thanks to Al- 
mighty God for deliverance from great peril in 
the passage of the forts," the report of a gun 
from the maintop of the Pensacola, anchored 
abreast of the Mint, startled the fleet, and at 
once sent the crews of the various ships to 
quarters. The gun was fired in consequence of 
the discovery of a man on the roof of the Mint 
hauling down the American flag. 

All eyes were at once turned upon the flag- 
ship, in anticipation of an order to the fleet to 
open fire, but no notice was taken by Farragut 
of the incident, quiet was speedily restored in 
the ships, and the service proceeded. 

But Farragut had now evidently determined 
to adopt sterner measures and on the 29th he 
decided that the time had come for him to take 
formal possession of the city. He accordingly 
sent an expedition on shore under command of 
Fleet Captain H. H. Bell, with Lieutenant Kautz 
as second in command, with a detachment of 
sailors and two boat howitzers, as artillery, as- 



The Capture of New Orleans 263 

sisted by Midshipmen John H. Read and E. C. 
Hazeltine. A battalion of marines, two hundred 
and fifty strong, under the command of Captain 
John L. Broome, was added to the force. Land- 
ing at the foot of Canal Street, near Lafayette 
Square, the marines were drawn up in line and 
the brass howitzers, glittering in the sunlight, 
were loaded with shrapnel, as an object-lesson 
to the crowd, which, no longer noisy, now looked 
on silent but still angry and threatening. 

The line of march was then taken up to the 
Custom House, where Captain Bell, Lieutenant 
Kautz, and a boatswain's mate carrying the 
American ensign entered the building. The 
New Orleans postmaster, who was present as an 
official, received the officers cordially, saying: 
" Thank God you are here. I have been a Union 
man all the time. I was appointed by Buchanan, 
not by Jeff Davis; he only allowed me to re- 
main." The postmaster then showed the officers 
to the roof of the building, where a flagstaff 
was found, the boatswain's mate bent on the 
flag and as Captain Bell gave the order " Hoist 
away ! " the Stars and Stripes arose over New 
Orleans. 

Captain Alan Ramsay, U. S. M. C, with a 
detachment of marines from the Richmond, was 
left to guard the flag, and the line of march 
was taken by the column to the City Hall. Cap- 
tain Bell there entered the mayor's room and 
said : " Sir, I have come in obedience to orders 



264 The American Navy 

to haul down the State flag from this building." 
The mayor, his voice trembling with emotion, 
replied very dramatically : " Very well, sir, you 
can do it; but I wish to say that there is not 
in my entire constituency so wretched a rene- 
gade as would be willing to exchange places 
with you." 

Captain Bell visibly restrained himself from 
reply to this very offensive speech and asked 
that he might be shown the way to the roof. 
The mayor replied by referring him to the 
janitor, whom he would find outside, and the 
officers left the room and found their way to 
the roof where the State flag was hauled down 
from the flagstaff by Captain Kautz and the 
boatswain's mate, the great crowd in the street 
looking on in sullen silence. No flag was hoisted 
in its place for the reason that the City Hall 
was not United States property. Lieutenant 
John C. Harris, U. S. M. C, was left with a 
guard of marines to occupy the building and 
to enforce order. This guard remained in occu- 
pancy until May 1st, when the troops of General 
Butler occupied the city. 

As one of the officers in the naval contingent 
of the expedition for the conquest of New 
Orleans, the present writer does not hesitate 
to say that it was a very great relief to the 
officers of the fleet, and, I think I may venture 
to say, to its commander, when on May 1st the 
transport Mississippi arrived at the levee and 



The Capture of New Orleans 265 

General Benjamin F. Butler with his contingent 
of troops occupied the city and at once pro- 
ceeded to enforce with a firm hand law and 
order in the heretofore turbulent city of New 
Orleans. 

At noon on May 1st the Mississippi lay at 
the levee and the disembarkation of the 31st 
Massachusetts and the 4th Wisconsin regi- 
ments commenced. When all were landed 
and the regiments formed, the general and his 
staff marching at the head on foot, the troops 
moved steadily on, the surging masses crowding 
the sidewalks hurrahing for " Beauregard, Bull 
Run, and Shiloh" and cursing the Yankees. The 
Custom House reached, the troops bivouacked 
for the night in an upper story. Strong guards 
were posted and the rage of the mob was soon 
exhausted. The next morning General Butler's 
proclamation announced to the citizens that New 
Orleans was again under the flag of the Union. 

The mob that escorted General Butler and his 
troops to the Custom House that day was the 
last of its kind that under his iron sway was 
ever permitted to manifest itself in the streets 
of the Crescent City. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

BUILDING THE RED RIVER DAM 

AFTER the fall of Port Hudson, on July 8, 
1863, Admiral Farragut was desirous of 
at once commencing operations against Mobile, 
in accordance with his instructions from the 
Navy Department. General Banks, in command 
of the Department of Louisiana, however, was 
informed by General Halleck that there were 
important reasons, other than military, why the 
movement to restore the flag in Texas should 
be made first and with the least possible de- 
lay, and a combined naval and military opera- 
tion by the Red River was indicated as the best 
mode of carrying out that object. 

The first attempt to " plant the flag in Texas " 
led to the very unfortunate expedition to Sabine 
Pass in September, which was a dismal fiasco. 
On the 1st of March, 1864, General Sherman 
came to New Orleans and immediate arrange- 
ments were made to send ten thousand troops 
to join Admiral Porter at the mouth of the Red 
River for a proposed naval and military opera- 
tion against the Confederate forces in that 
department. 

Admiral Porter's fleet, assembled at the mouth 

266 



Building the Red River Dam 267 

of the Red River on March 12th, included the 
formidable river ironclads East port, Essex, Ben- 
ton, Lafayette, Choctaw, Chillicothe, Ozark, 
Louisville, Carondelet, Pittsburgh, Mound City, 
Osage, Neosho, and the light draught gunboats 
Ouachita, Lexington, Fort Hindman, Cricket, 
Gazelle, Juliet, and Black Hawk, the last 
bearing the admiral's flag. 

This was distinctly the most formidable naval 
force that had ever been collected in western 
waters. It was under a commanding officer 
courageous and experienced, full of energy, and 
remarkably fertile in resource. It was manned 
by officers and men veteran in river warfare, after 
two years of arduous experience on the Missis- 
sippi and its tributaries. This powerful fleet 
was reinforced by ten thousand of Sherman's 
old soldiers, under General A. J. Smith, and 
the navy felt that there would be few laurels 
for them to win, little dreaming of the dangers, 
hardships, and possible loss of a portion of this 
splendid squadron that was in store for them 
in the crooked, narrow, and turgid stream, whose 
high banks furnished the most favorable posi- 
tions for artillery and the deadly sharpshooter. 

On March 12th the fleet and the thirty army 
transports moved up the Red River. The main 
body of naval vessels turned off at the Atchafa- 
laya to cover the landing of Smith's force at 
Simsport, whence that body was to march to 
Alexandria, to effect a junction with Banks's 



268 The American Navy 

army. The Eastport, Osage, Fort Hindman, and 
Cricket were ordered to go ahead and clear the 
river of any obstructions they might encounter. 

On the 14th, the advance squadron found a 
row of piles across the river, below Fort De 
Russy, supported by a second row bolted to the 
first, while a perfect forest of trees had been 
cut and floated against them, with their branches 
interlaid with the piles. An entire day was 
occupied in removing this annoying obstruction, 
and before the gunboats had finally pushed 
through and had arrived in proximity to the 
fort the guns of the attacking Union forces were 
heard, so that for fear of injury to them the 
fleet could fire only a few rounds at the water- 
battery. 

The capture of Fort De Russy was a dashing 
and gallant affair, General Mower actually rid- 
ing into the fort at the head of his attacking 
column. The advance of the gunboats, however, 
was delayed by their despatch boat getting en- 
tangled in the obstruction, which afforded time 
for the Confederate transports, plainly in sight, 
to escape from our fleet. 

By March 16th nine gunboats had arrived at 
Alexandria, about ten miles above Fort De 
Russy, and Lieutenant-Commander T. E. Self- 
ridge was ordered to occupy the town with one 
hundred and eighty men until the arrival of 
General Smith's forces. On the 29th fourteen 
of the squadron left Alexandria for the upper 




BRACKET DAM - MADE OF TIMBER AND PLANKINCr 




DAM OF FELLED TREES WEIGHTED WITH STONES 




LOO CRIB FILLED WITH STONE "V>c. 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE RED RIVER DAM 

Drawn by William J. Wilson 



Building the Red River Dam 269 

river, the Eastport and Osage being in the ad- 
vance. As the squadron advanced, the enemy's 
scouts set fire to all the cotton within ten miles 
of the river bank. Millions of dollars' worth of it 
were thus destroyed, and so dense was the smoke 
that the sun was obscured and appeared as 
though seen through a smoked glass. One Sun- 
day morning a man was seen, from the Eastport's 
deck, in front of a handsome house waving a 
white handkerchief. Captains Phelps and Self- 
ridge stopped their boats and going on shore 
accosted him. He proved to be a brother of 
Captain Colhoun of our navy. He had taken no 
part in the war, but the previous night the scouts 
had burned five thousand bales of his cotton and 
his gin-house. The total loss to Mr. Colhoun, 
estimating the cotton at its market price, was 
fully $2,000,000. Yet he was but one of the 
many innocent persons who suffered the loss of 
all their property through this indiscriminate 
destruction. The gunboats were now beginning 
to suffer from want of coal, and each day, after 
tying up at the bank for the night, the planta- 
tions were ravaged of their fence rails as far 
as the eye could see. So that between the Con- 
federates destroying their cotton and the Fed- 
erals levying upon their fences the unfortunate 
planters' lot was a hard one indeed. 

April 3d Volunteer Lieutenant J. P. Couthouy, 
a very gallant officer commanding the Lexington, 
was shot by a guerrilla from the bank, a few 



270 The American Navy 

miles above Grand Ecore. On the 7th Admiral 
Porter shifted his flag to the Cricket and left 
Grand Ecore for Shreveport accompanied by the 
Osage, Neosho, Fort Hindman, Lexington, and 
Chillicothe, convoying twenty transports con- 
taining Kilby Smith's division of the Sixteenth 
Army Corps, a rendezvous being agreed upon 
with the army at Springfield Landing, one hun- 
dred and ten miles by the river below Shreve- 
port. The river at this time was stationary, at 
a lower stage than usual at the season, and there 
was barely water to float the gunboats. 

April 10th the fleet arrived at Springfield Land- 
ing, meeting with no very serious obstruction 
beyond the usual amount of bushwhacking, to 
which by this time they were quite accustomed. 
Here the river was found obstructed by the sink- 
ing of a large steamer, the New Falls City, across 
the channel. Admiral Porter also here obtained 
news of the disastrous battles of Sabine Cross 
Koacls and Pleasant Hills on the 8th and 9th 
of April, through a courier who brought word 
that our army was falling back upon Grand 
Ecore. 

Porter at once held a council of his command- 
ing officers on board the flagship and it was 
decided that the fleet must go back, and the 
perilous return of the gunboats to the Missis- 
sippi was at once begun. There were but half 
a dozen vessels, two of which were " tin clads," 
to protect the long line of transports. The river 



Building the Red River Dam 271 

was rapidly falling; its narrowness and its high 
banks afforded the best possible opportunities 
for harassing attacks, and the bends of the 
stream were so short that it was with the great- 
est difficulty they were rounded by the heavier 
vessels of the fleet. In fact it became necessary 
to lash the transport Black Hawk to the quarter 
of the Osage to render her manageable in the 
swift current. On the 12th the Confederate 
General Green, with three or four regiments of 
cavalry and three guns, posted in ambush on 
the bluff near Blair's Landing, attacked the fleet 
and the transports as they were descending from 
Loggy Bayou. A very brisk engagement ensued, 
the enemy coming on in column of regiments, 
protected by the high and almost perpendicular 
banks, and pouring in a terrific musketry fire 
upon the boats at a distance not exceeding one 
hundred yards. The great guns of the Osage, 
loaded with grape and canister, were served with 
great effect, and after a prolonged engagement, 
lasting one hour and a half, the enemy retreated 
with a loss of over four hundred killed and 
wounded. Among the dead was the Confederate 
leader, General Thomas Green, a very famous 
partisan fighter. 

By the 13th all the gunboats were back at 
Grand Ecore, and as fast as the vessels could 
pass the bar they made their way toward Alex- 
andria. On the 15th the gunboat Eastport, the 
largest vessel of the fleet, was sunk by a torpedo 



272 The American Navy 

eight miles below Grand Ecore. She was got 
afloat on the 21st, but on the 26th she ran hard 
and fast aground fifty miles farther down the 
river and was abandoned and blown up by her 
commander. 

At Alexandria General Hunter was met bear- 
ing fresh and very positive orders from Grant 
to bring the ill-fated expedition to an end. But, 
orders or no orders, it was, of course, impossible 
to abandon the vessels of the navy in their pres- 
ent perilous situation, with the river falling 
and an active enemy on both banks. 

From this impending disaster the country was 
saved by the genius and skill of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Joseph Bailey, of the 4th Wisconsin 
regiment, and by hard and willing work on the 
part of the officers and men of the army. After 
the capture of Port Hudson, Bailey, by means 
of wing dams and a central boom had floated 
the abandoned Confederate transports Starlight 
and Red Chief, and he now proposed to rescue 
the imprisoned fleet in the same way. Although 
the work looked to be stupendous, the engineer 
officers of the army reported it practicable, and 
active operations were at once commenced by 
order of General Banks. 

The river had fallen more than six feet since 
the fleet had, with great difficulty, ascended the 
rapids and for a mile and a quarter the rocks 
were now bare. There were but three feet four 
inches of water in the channel, while the gun- 



Building the Red River Dam 273 

boats needed at least seven feet. The current 
ran nine miles an hour, the total fall was thir- 
teen feet, and at the point just above the lower 
chute, where Bailey proposed to construct his 
dam, the river was seven hundred and fifty-eight 
feet wide, with a fall of six feet below the dam. 

The problem confronting Bailey was to raise 
the water above the dam seven feet, backing it 
up so as to float the gunboats over the upper 
fall. To that end a wing dam was constructed 
of large trees, the butts tied by cross-logs, the 
tops toward the current, and kept in place by 
weighting with stone, brick, and brush. From 
the south bank, where large trees were scarce, 
a crib was made of logs and timbers, filled in 
with stone and with bricks and machinery taken 
from the neighboring sugar-houses and cotton- 
gins, that were freely levied upon. The space 
of about one hundred and fifty feet between the 
wings was closed by sinking across it four of the 
large coal barges belonging to the navy. 

This gigantic work, begun on the 30th of April, 
was finished on the 8th of May. The water hav- 
ing been thus raised five feet four and a half 
inches, three of the light-draught gunboats passed 
the upper fall safely on that day. On the morn- 
ing of the 9th, however, the tremendous pres- 
sure of the pent-up waters drove out two of the 
barges, making a gap sixty-six feet wide, and 
swung them against the rocks below. 

Through this gap the water rushed in a tor- 
18 



274 The American Navy 

rent. Admiral Porter at once galloped round 
to the upper fall and ordered the Lexington 
to run the rapids immediately. With a full 
head of steam she made the plunge, watched in 
the breathless silence of suspense by the army 
and the fleet, and greeted with a mighty cheer 
from the spectators she rode in safety below. 
The Osage, Neosho, and Fort Hindman, that 
were waiting just above the dam, followed their 
leader safely down the chute; but as the water 
shoaled six gunboats and two tugs were still 
imprisoned above. 

Bailey, undaunted, now constructed three 
wing dams at the upper fall: a stone crib on 
the south side, and a tree dam on the north side 
just above the upper rocks, and just below them, 
also on the north side, a bracket dam, made of 
logs raised at the lower end on trestles and 
sheathed with plank. Thus the whole current 
was turned into one narrow channel. A further 
rise of fourteen inches was thus obtained, making 
six feet six and a half inches in all; and this 
new task by incredible exertions was completed 
in three days and three nights. Hawsers were 
then run out from the gunboats to the shore and 
these, with the united force of three thousand 
willing men, enlivened with a band of music, 
dragged the vessels over the bottom till they 
floated in the deeper water beyond, and the re- 
maining gunboats thus passed free of the danger 
on the 12th and 13th of May. 



Building the Red River Dam 275 

For this superb feat of engineering, which 
saved Porter's fleet from impending destruction, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Bailey very justly received 
the thanks of Congress and was made a brigadier 
general. Vestiges of his dam remained for 
years after the war, and the channel of the river 
was driven toward the south shore, where a large 
slice of the bank was washed away at the upper 
end of the town. 

The Red River campaign was very unfortu- 
nate for both sides and gave cause to no end 
of quarrels and bitter recriminations. The Con- 
federate General Taylor was relieved by Kirby 
Smith ; Banks was overslaughed, and Franklin 
quitted the department in disgust, while between 
the Union general commanding and the admiral 
communications were exchanged that were any- 
thing but complimentary. 

An unfortunate incident occurred during the 
building of the dam, when two of the light- 
draught gunboats, the Signal, and Covington, 
while convoying the Warner, a quarter-master's 
boat, down the river were attacked at Dunn's 
Bayou, by a force of six thousand Confederate 
troops with twenty-five pieces of artillery. The 
gunboats gallantly rounded to and opened the 
fight, but the fire of the enemy was so severe 
that their boilers were perforated and their 
steam pipes cut. This unequal contest was con- 
tinued for five hours, when Lieutenant Lord of 
the Covington landed his crew and set fire to 



276 The American Navy 

his vessel. The Signal unfortunately had too 
many wounded to pursue a like course and she 
fell into the hands of the enemy. 

On the 21st of May the squadron and trans- 
ports reached the Mississippi, and thus ended 
the humiliating Red River expedition. The 
navy lost the gunboats Eastport, Covington, 
and Signal and the pump-boats Champion No. 3 
and No. 5. The total naval casualties in killed, 
wounded, and missing were one hundred and 
twenty exclusive of the crews of the pump-boats, 
which lost about two hundred men. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RAM " ALBEMARLE " 

AFTER the capture of Roanoke Island in 
1862 by the Federal forces, the Confeder- 
ates found the waters in the rear of Richmond, 
upon which they depended largely for the intro- 
duction of military supplies, as well as for the 
export of cotton, seriously threatened. After 
two ineffectual attempts to expel their enemies 
from Pamlico Sound, the Confederate authori- 
ties, therefore, determined to construct an 
armored vessel of the Merrimac type, and Com- 
mander James M. Cooke, an able and experi- 
enced officer of the Confederate navy, was de- 
tailed, in January, 1864, to superintend her 
construction at Edward's Ferry, some miles up 
the Roanoke River. The plan of this ship, to 
be called the Albemarle, provided for a vessel 
to act in shallow water and her armament was 
to be two one-hundred-pound rifles. 

The Albemarle was finally completed and on 
April 19, 1864, she came out, the high water 
enabling her to pass the obstructions that our 
forces had placed in the river to prevent her 
descent. She was met by the United States 
ships Southfield and Miami, but, avoiding the 

277 



278 The American Navy 

latter, the Albemarle, at full speed, dashed for 
the Southfield, driving her ram ten feet into 
the doomed vessel. The two ships were en- 
tangled and the Southfield instantly began to 
sink, carrying down with her the Albemarle, 
whose bow was actually under water and 
through whose forward ports a flood was pour- 
ing, when the Southfield rolled off the ram, and 
the Albemarle righted herself. 

The Miami, Lieutenant Flusser, meanwhile 
came up and, at very close quarters, fired a 
nine-inch shell at the Albemarle's side. This, 
as it struck, shattered, and the fragments, fly- 
ing back, instantly killed the gallant Flusser. 
The Miami then withdrew, leaving the Albe- 
marle in undisputed possession of the upper 
waters of Albemarle Sound. 

A large fleet of wooden ships was at once 
gathered by the Federal authorities and on May 
5th the Albemarle again came down to battle, 
accompanied by two smaller vessels. The ram 
opened fire on the ships and after a brief en- 
gagement the Sassacus backed, and then came 
with tremendous force at the Albemarle under 
a full head of steam, using oil and cotton waste 
in her furnaces. She struck with a speed of 
eight knots on the starboard quarter of the ram, 
depressing the Albemarle's stern and twisting 
her own bow, in the collision. Meanwhile, as 
the Sassacus swung around, the ram fired two 
one-hundred-pound shells through her, piercing 



Destruction of the "Albemarle" 279 

her boiler and filling the ship with scalding 
steam. For thirteen minutes the combatants 
were hidden in a dense cloud of steam, and then 
the Albemarle retired, very well satisfied with 
the result of her second day's work. 

It having become painfully evident that this 
formidable ram could not be destroyed by the 
wooden ships, an expedition from the fleet was 
undertaken by Coalheaver Baldwin, with four 
volunteers, having four torpedoes in a boat. 
They landed on the night of May 25th, in a 
branch of the Roanoke, above the point where 
the Albemarle lay at anchor. Their plan was 
to float the two torpedoes, connected by a line, 
down on the ram where they were to be ex- 
ploded by Baldwin. The plan miscarried, as 
the torpedoes fouled a schooner. Baldwin was 
discovered by a sentinel and with his companions 
took refuge in a swamp, where they lay for two 
days before they escaped. 

The final and successful attempt to destroy 
the Albemarle was conducted by Lieutenant 
William Barker Cushing, a young officer only 
twenty-one years of age, who formulated a plan 
for destroying the ram in June, while he was 
in command of the U. S. S. Monticello. He 
submitted his plan to Rear Admiral Lee, in 
command of the squadron, who gave him leave 
of absence with permission to carry his project 
into effect. Proceeding to New York Cushing 
applied for one of the new steam picket launches, 



280 The American Navy 

invented by Chief Engineer W. W. Wood, and 
his request was granted. She was brought 
down to Albemarle Sound, fitted with a twelve- 
pound howitzer mounted in the bow, and with 
a torpedo attached to a spar twenty-eight feet 
long. 

On the night of October 27th, with a picked 
crew of thirteen officers and men, Cushing ran 
up to Plymouth. In his modest official report 
of what followed he says: 

The distance from the mouth of the river to the 
ram was about eight miles, the stream averaging 
in width some two hundred yards, and lined with 
the enemy's pickets. A mile below the town was 
the wreck of the Southfield, surrounded by some 
schooners, and it was understood that a gun was 
mounted there to command the bend. I therefore 
took one of the Shamrock's cutters in tow, with 
orders to cast off and board at that point, if we 
were hailed. Our boat succeeded in passing the 
pickets, and even the Southfield, within twenty 
yards, without discovery, and we were not hailed 
until by the lookouts on the ram. The cutter was 
then cast off and ordered below, while we made 
for our enemy under a full head of steam. 

The rebels sprung their rattle, rang the bell, and 
commenced firing, at the same time repeating their 
hail and seeming much confused. The light of a 
fire ashore showed me the ironclad made fast to 
the wharf, with a pen of logs around her about 
thirty feet from her side. 

Passing her closely, we made a complete circle, 




kl > 

f 1 

o a 

z « 



Destruction of the " Albemarle " 281 

so as to strike her fairly, and went into her, bows 
on. By this time the enemy's fire was very severe, 
but a dose of canister at short range served to 
moderate their zeal and disturb their aim. Pay- 
master Swan, of the Otsego, was wounded near me, 
but how many more I know not. Three bullets 
struck my clothing, and the air seemed full of 
them. 

In a moment we had struck the logs, just abreast 
of the quarter port, breasting them in some feet, 
and our bows resting on them. The torpedo boom 
was then lowered and by a vigorous pull I succeeded 
in diving the torpedo under the overhang and ex- 
ploding it at the same time that the Albemarle's 
gun was fired. A shot seemed to go crashing 
through my boat, and a dense mass of water rushed 
in from the torpedo, filling the launch and com- 
pletely disabling her. 

The enemy then continued his fire at fifteen feet 
range, and demanded our surrender, which I twice 
refused, ordering the men to save themselves, and 
removing my own coat and shoes. Then springing 
into the river, I swam, with others, into the middle 
of the stream, the rebels failing to hit us. 

The most of our party were captured, some were 
drowned, and only one escaped besides myself, and 
he in another direction. I met Acting-Master's 
Mate Woodman, of the Commodore Hull, in the 
water half a mile below the town, and assisted him 
as best I could, but failed to get him ashore. 

Completely exhausted, I managed to reach the 
shore, but was too weak to crawl out of the water 
until just at daylight, when I managed to creep 
into the swamp, close to the fort. While hiding 



282 The American Navy 

a few feet from the path, two of the Albemarle's 
officers passed, and I judged from their conversa- 
tion that the ship was destroyed. 

Some hours' travelling in the swamp served to 
bring me out well below the town, when I sent a 
negro in to gain information and found that the ram 
was truly sunk. Proceeding through another swamp, 
I came to a creek and captured a skiff, belonging 
to a picket of the enemy, and with this, by eleven 
o'clock the next night, had made my way out to 
the Valley City. 

President Lincoln sent a message to Congress 
specially recommending that Lieutenant Cush- 
ing receive a vote of thanks " for his impor- 
tant, gallant, and perilous achievement," and 
the young officer was promoted to Lieutenant- 
Commander on 27 October, 1864. Hear Admiral 
David D. Porter, commanding the squadron, 
issued a general order in which he said: 

The gallant exploits of Lieutenant Cushing pre- 
vious to this affair will form a bright page in the 
history of the war, but they have all been eclipsed 
by the destruction of the Albemarle. The spirit 
evidenced by this officer is what I wish to see per- 
vading this squadron. He has shown an absolute 
disregard of death or danger, and will no doubt 
be suitably rewarded by the Government, which 
reward he well deserves. Opportunities will be 
offered to all those who have the energy and skill 
to undertake like enterprises; and twenty volun- 
teers are wanted at this moment to perform a like 



Destruction of the "Albemarle" 283 

service. The chances are death, capture, glory, and 
promotion. 

In response to this request for twenty volun- 
teers for extra hazardous duty it is an interest- 
ing fact, indicative of the spirit of the service, 
that seventy-seven officers, one hundred and 
forty-nine men, and the entire crew of the U. S. 
S. Tuscarora, at once volunteered their services. 

In the final and successful attack upon Fort 
Fisher, Cushing, under a constant and heavy 
fire, buoyed out the channel in a small skiff, 
continuing the work for six hours, until com- 
pleted. In the assault on the fort he led a force 
of seamen and marines from the Monticello 
and, amid a fire which cut down his men in 
windrows, he crossed a hundred yards of sand, 
rallied his men, and lent such efficient assistance 
to the troops that before midnight the fort was 
surrendered. 

On January 21, 1872, Lieutenant-Commander 
Cushing was advanced to the grade of Com- 
mander, being the youngest officer of that rank 
in the navy. Soon after this his health failed 
and he died in Washington, December 17, 1874. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE " KEARSARGE " AND " ALABAMA " FIGHT 

WHILE our armies were fighting the ter- 
rible battles in the Wilderness, in 1864, 
and the whole country was in a state of feverish 
anxiety, a piece of news was flashed across the 
Atlantic that gave more general satisfaction to 
the people at large than the intelligence of 
a hard-won battle in Virginia. It was the 
announcement that the Confederate cruiser 
Alabama was at the bottom of the English 
Channel, sent there by the guns of the victorious 
Kearsarge. 

For the past two years the successful opera- 
tions of the Alabama had attracted the attention 
of Europe as well as America, for she made her 
debut as a warship by plunging in among the 
American whaling fleet off Fayal, in September, 
18G2. During the next eighteen months the 
Alabama had seemed to be everywhere, burn- 
ing, sinking, and bonding sixty-nine vessels, and 
finally, in January, 1863, she succeeded in de- 
coying the U. S. S. Hatteras out from the fleet 
blockading Galveston, and in a lively contest 
of fifteen minutes sent her to the bottom of the 

Gulf of Mexico. 

284 



"Kearsarge" and "Alabama" Fight 285 

Early in 1862 Captain John A. Winslow, 
U. S. N., was sent in command of the U. S. S. 
Kearsarge to cruise on the coast of Europe in 
search of the Alabama and other Confederate 
vessels. For some time Winslow blockaded the 
Rappahannock in the port of Calais, but after 
two months, in despair of getting to sea, her 
commander dismantled the ship and she was 
laid up. Later, while the Kearsarge was at 
Antwerp, in May, 1864, Winslow received a de- 
spatch informing him that the Alabama had 
put into Cherbourg, France, for repairs. The 
Kearsarge at once sailed for that port and took 
up a position off the famous breakwater. 

Captain Semmes was now for the first time 
placed in a position where he would either have 
to fight the Kearsarge — a ship as nearly as pos- 
sible of the same size as his own and with an 
equal armament — or decline the combat alto- 
gether. So he sent out a challenge to Captain 
Winslow, which that officer immediately ac- 
cepted. The news of the approaching naval 
battle soon spread, as it was telegraphed in all 
directions, and as a natural result crowds came 
down from Paris and from places in the vicinity 
to see the fight, yachts collected, and wagers 
were freely laid upon the result of the contest. 

At length, on Sunday morning, June 19, 1864, 
the Alabama, having made all her preparations, 
steamed out of Cherbourg, accompanied by the 
French ironclad Conronne. The morning was 



286 The American Navy 

exceptionally fine, the sea calm, with a light 
haze on the water, not sufficient to obscure the 
movements of the ships. The French frigate 
accompanied the Alabama, until she was beyond 
the marine league of French jurisdiction, and 
then withdrew. 

The Kearsarge, sighting the Alabama at 10.30 
a.m., at once headed seaward to draw Semmes 
as far as possible from shore, so that, in case 
of his vessel being partially disabled, she could 
not readily escape by running into French 
waters. Both vessels then cleared for action, 
pivoting their guns to starboard, and as the 
Kearsarge came around, the Alabama sheered, 
slowed her engine and fired a broadside, which 
did no damage to her adversary. Winslow at 
once increased his speed, striving to strike his 
enemy with full force, but the Alabama again 
sheered and opened fire. The ships were now 
brought broadside to broadside, at a distance of 
about seven hundred yards, and as both vessels 
were under a full head of steam they were forced 
into a circular movement, steaming in opposite 
directions round a common centre, with the cur- 
rent setting them to the westward. 

The firing of the Alabama, throughout the en- 
gagement, was very rapid, but also very wild. 
During the first eighteen minutes not a man 
was injured on board the Kearsarge. Then a 
sixty-eight-pound Blakely shell passed through 
the starboard bulwarks, near the main rigging, 



"Kearsarge" and "Alabama" Fight 287 

and exploded on the quarter-deck, wounding 
three men at the after pivot gun, one of whom 
died later. This, strange as it seems, was the 
only casualty among the crew of the Kearsarge 
during the whole engagement. The firing of the 
Kearsarge was very deliberate and especial pains 
were taken in sighting the two eleven-inch pivot 
guns. At the distance at which they were fired, 
about half a mile, they were terribly effective. 
One shell disabled a gun on board the Alabama 
and killed and wounded eighteen men. Another 
exploded in her coal-bunker and completely 
blocked the engine-room. Other shells tore great 
gaps in her sides, and it soon became evident 
that the Alabama's race was run. 

For an hour this fire was exchanged, the 
Kearsarge suffering very little, while almost 
every one of her shot struck the Alabama, crash- 
ing through her sides, exploding within her or 
upon her decks, and sweeping away her crew, 
many of whom were literally torn to pieces by 
the fearful missiles. She was thus rapidly be- 
ing reduced to a wreck, her decks were strewn 
with the dead and wounded, and the water was 
pouring in through the gaps in her sides. 

Semmes now made one last desperate effort 
to escape from his antagonist, and suddenly 
bore up for the French coast, making all sail 
that he could to help his disabled engines. But 
he was too late. The Alabama was rapidly sink- 
ing, and the water which poured into her soon 



288 The American Navy 

put out the fires in her boiler-room. One or 
two more shots brought down her flag. For a 
moment it was uncertain whether it had been 
hauled down or shot away, but soon a white 
flag was shown and the fire of the Kearsarge 
ceased. 

In a moment more another gun was rashly 
fired from the Alabama, which was at once re- 
turned and then the Kearsarge steamed ahead 
and ranged across the Alabama's bow, with the 
idea of sinking her, but, the white flag being 
again shown, the attack ceased. A boat now came 
from the Alabama, with an officer, to announce 
that Captain Semmes had surrendered and ask- 
ing for aid to remove his crew from the sinking 
ship. The only two boats of the Kearsarge, in 
condition to use, were at once lowered, but be- 
fore they could reach her they saw the Alabama 
settle by the stern, raise her bows high up in 
the air, shake her mizzen-mast over the side, and 
plunge down to the bottom. 

The crew were left struggling in the water 
and the boats of the Kearsarge picked up as 
many as they could and hailed the English yacht 
Deerhound, that had steamed up meanwhile, re- 
questing them to assist in saving the prisoners. 
Both parties saved such as they could. When 
no more were to be seen floating, the Americans, 
to their great surprise, found the yacht making 
off at full speed, instead of delivering the prison- 
ers she had picked up, among them Captain 



"Kearsarge" and "Alabama" Fight 289 

Semmes, the commander of the vanquished 
Alabama. 

In his official letter to Captain Winslow, 
Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, says: 

The Alabama represented the best maritime effort 
of the best English workshops. Her battery was 
composed of the well-tried thirty-two-pounders of 
fifty-seven hundred weight, of the famous sixty-eight- 
pounder of the British navy, and of the only suc- 
cessful rifled one-hundred-pounder yet produced in 
England. The crew were generally recruited in 
Great Britain, and many of them received superior 
training on board her Majesty's gunnery ship the 
Excellent. The Eearsarge is one of the first gun- 
boats built at our navy yards, at the commencement 
of the Rebellion, and lacks the improvements of the 
vessels now under construction. . . . The President 
has signified his intention to recommend to Con- 
gress that you receive a vote of thanks, in order 
that you may be advanced to the grade of Com- 
modore. Lieutenant Commander James S. Thorn- 
ton, the executive officer of the Eearsarge, will be 
recommended to the Senate for advancement ten 
numbers in his grade. 

It was stated, soon after the fight, that the 
Kearsarge was " an ironclad in disguise." Re- 
plying to this Captain Winslow says in his 
official report: 

The Eearsarge's battery consists of seven guns, 
two eleven-inch Dahlgrens, four thirty-two-pounders, 
one light rifled twenty-eight-pounder. The battery 



290 The American Navy 

of the Alabama was one one-hundred-pounder rifled 
and six thirty-two-pounders; that is one more gun 
than the Eearsarge. In the wake of the engines, 
on the outside, the Eearsarge had stopped up and 
down her sheet anchor chains. These were secured 
by marline to eyebolts, which extended some twenty 
feet, and this was done by our own crew. The 
whole was covered by light plank to prevent dirt 
collecting. It was placed there to protect the en- 
gines when there was no coal in the upper part of 
the bunkers, as was the case when the action took 
place. The Alabama had bunkers full, and was 
equally protected. 

The Eearsarge went into action with a crew of 
one hundred and sixty-two officers and men. The 
Alabama, by report of the Deerhound officers, had 
one hundred and fifty. The action lasted one hour 
and two minutes, from the first to the last shot. 
The Eearsarge received twenty-eight shots above 
and below, thirteen about her hull; the best shots 
were abaft the main-mast, two shots which cut the 
chain stops, the shell of which broke the casing of 
wood covering; they were too high to damage the 
boilers had they penetrated. The Eearsarge was 
only slightly damaged, and I supposed the hot work 
of the action had just commenced when it ended. 
Toward the last the Alabama hoisted sail to get 
away, when I laid the Eearsarge across her bows, 
and would have raked her had she not surrendered, 
which she had done, and was trying to get her flags 
down, showing a white flag over the stern. The 
officers of the Alabama on board the Eearsarge say 
that she was a perfect slaughter-house and was 
completely torn to pieces. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE BATTLE IN MOBILE BAY 

THE battle of Mobile Bay was the most 
brilliant action in which Farragut took 
part and it was to be, as he himself felt, the 
crowning achievement of his naval career. It 
was also the first and only time in which 
Farragut had under his immediate command 
modern ironclad vessels as part of his fleet. The 
defences of the bay consisted mainly of three 
forts, Morgan, Gaines, and Powell; the first a 
brick bastioned work with walls four feet, eight 
inches thick, with an armament of eighty-six 
guns, rifled thirty-twos, ten-inch Columbiads, 
and two seven- and eight-inch Brooks rifles. In 
the bastion, flank, and water batteries were 
forty additional guns, of various calibres. The 
garrison numbered six hundred and forty men. 
Fort Gaines was a star-shaped work of brick, 
with thirty guns mounted. 

On the flats, southward and eastward of 
Gaines, innumerable piles were driven to ob- 
struct the passage of vessels and from these two 
lines of torpedoes extended toward Fort Mor- 
gan, terminating at a point a few hundred yards 
from that fort, indicated by a red buoy. This 

292 



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The Battle in Mobile Bay 293 

channel, left open for blockade runners, was 
within close range of the guns of the fort. 
Auxiliary to this land defence, about five hun- 
dred yards northward from Fort Morgan, lay the 
formidable ironclad steamer Tennessee. She was 
two hundred and nine feet in length, with a pro- 
jecting iron prow two feet below the water line. 
Her sloping sides were covered with an armor 
from five to six inches in thickness, and she 
carried six Brooks rifled guns in casemate, two 
of which were pivot, throwing solid projectiles 
of one hundred and ten pounds. Her weak 
point was her steering gear, which was badly 
arranged and much exposed. Near her were 
anchored three wooden gunboats, the Morgan, 
Gaines, and Selma. 

Farragut, as usual, issued carefully prepared 
orders to his commanders, covering every pos- 
sible contingency, and arranged his order of 
battle, the wooden ships to pass the forts in 
pairs, a gunboat lashed to each of the heavier 
ships, as follows: Brooklyn and Octorara; 
Hartford and Metacomet; Richmond and Port 
Royal; Lackawanna and Seminole; Monongahela 
and Kennebec; Ossipee and Itasca; Oneida and 
Galena. 

At half past five on the morning of August 
5th, the Admiral, still sipping his tea, quietly 
said to his flag captain, " Well, Drayton, we 
might as well get under way." In one minute 
answering signals came from every ship of the 



294 The American Navy 

fleet, the wooden vessels taking up their respec- 
tive positions and steering for Sand Island 
Channel, while the four monitors filed out and 
formed in single column to the right of the 
wooden ships, the Tecumseh first, followed by 
the Manhattan, Winnebago, and Chickasaw. 

The Confederate fleet had, meantime, taken 
position in line of echelon across the channel, 
with their port batteries bearing on our fleet. 
The Tennessee was a little westward of the red 
buoy and close to the inner line of torpedoes. 
At 6.47 the Tecumseh opened fire and Fort 
Morgan responded. As the wooden vessels came 
within shorter range Farragut signalled " closer 
order," which was promptly obeyed, each vessel 
closing up to within a few yards of the one 
ahead, and a little on the starboard quarter, 
thus enabling such of the ships as had chase 
guns to bring them to bear. 

The fleet was now subjected to a terrible 
raking fire for fully half an hour, before they 
could bring their broadsides to bear with effect. 
At last, however, the Brooklyn and Hartford 
were enabled to pour in their broadsides and 
speedily drove the Confederate gunners from 
the barbette and water batteries. 

The Admiral, meanwhile, in his anxiety to 
have a clear and unobstructed view of what 
was going on, had, after his customary fashion, 
gone a few ratlines up the main rigging of 
the Hart ford, and, as the smoke increased, lie 



The Battle in Mobile Bay 295 

ascended, step by step, until lie had reached 
the futtock shrouds, below the main-top. Cap- 
tain Drayton, observing this, sent Quarter- 
master Knowles up with a line, who passed a 
few turns around the Admiral, and there he 
remained until the fleet entered the bay. 

By half past seven the ironclad Tecumseh was 
well up with the fort and drawing slowly by 
the Tennessee, having her on the port beam, 
when she suddenly reeled to port and went down 
instantly, with almost every soul on board, de- 
stroyed by a torpedo; Captain Craven, in his 
eagerness to engage the ram, had passed to the 
west of the fatal buoy. If he had gone but his 
breadth of beam eastward of it, he would have 
been safe. This appalling disaster was not at 
first realized by the fleet. Some supposed the 
Tennessee had been sunk and cheer after cheer 
rang out from our ships. But Farragut, from 
aloft, saw the true state of affairs and his 
anxiety was increased when he saw that the 
Brooklyn, just ahead, had suddenly stopped. He 
hailed his pilot, Freeman, above him in the top : 

" What is the matter with the Brooklyn? She 
must have plenty of water there." 

" Plenty and to spare, Admiral," replied the 
sturdy pilot ; " but her screw is moving ; yes, I 
think she is going ahead, sir." 

If that were true, it was glorious news indeed ! 
But no! she backed. Backed full upon the 
flagship ! thus arresting the advance of the whole 



296 The American Navy 

fleet; so that the rear pressed upon the van, 
the van upon the rear, and all was disorder and 
confusion ! The enemy, not slow to comprehend 
this condition of affairs, took advantage of their 
opportunity, and, manning all the guns from 
which they had so recently been driven, poured 
in a murderous fire upon our fleet, which met 
with but a feeble fire in response. " At this 
critical moment," writes an eye-witness, " the 
batteries of our ships were almost silent, while 
the whole of Mobile Point was a living line of 
flame." The slightest vacillation then, on the 
part of the admiral, and the battle would have 
been lost and the greater part of our fleet de- 
stroyed. But Farragut was the man for the oc- 
casion and fully equal to the emergency. His 
great qualities as a naval commander, which 
were apparent to all who were near him in times 
of extreme peril, were never more conspicuous 
than on this trying occasion. Danger there was 
and disaster there might be ahead, he knew, but 
astern was sure defeat and dishonor, and there 
could be for him but one course to steer, that 
leading straight into Mobile Bay, where the 
Confederate vessels were awaiting him. But 
between him and the Confederates interposed 
the Brooklyn, and how to get by her was the 
problem, for she lay right, athwart the Hart- 
ford's hawse, bows on to Fort Morgan. 

" What 's the trouble? " was shouted through 
a trumpet from the flagship to the Brooklyn. 



The Battle in Mobile Bay 297 

" Torpedoes,' 1 was the answer. 

" Damn the torpedoes," said Farragut. " Four 
bells, Captain Drayton. Go ahead, Jouett, full 
speed ! " And the Hartford passing the Brook- 
lyn assumed the head of the line and led the 
fleet to victory! 

Then was made manifest the soundness of the 
Admiral's judgment in lashing his vessels to- 
gether by pairs; for the Hartford going ahead, 
while the Metacomet backed, the bows of the 
flagship were swung to the westward until clear 
of the Brooklyn's stern, when both vessels 
gathered headway. 

Farragut then called to Jouett, " Send a 
boat to pick up those poor fellows from the 
T'ecumseh." Jouett, who had anticipated the 
order to save the drowning men, had already 
despatched a boat on this humane mission in 
charge of Acting-Ensign Henry C. Nields. Start- 
ing from the port quarter of the Metacomet, 
and steering the boat himself, this mere boy 
pulled directly under the battery of the Hart- 
ford and around the Brooklyn to within a few 
hundred yards of the fort, exposed to the fire 
of both friends and foes. After he had pulled 
a little distance from his vessel, he seemed sud- 
denly to reflect that he had no flag flying, when 
he dropped the yoke ropes, picked up a small 
ensign from the bottom of the boat, and unfurl- 
ing it from its staff, which he slipped in the 
stern sheets socket, he threw it full to the 



298 The American Navy 

breeze amid the loud cheers of his men. " I 
can scarcely describe/' says an officer of the 
Confederate ram Tennessee, "how I felt at wit- 
nessing this most gallant act. The muzzle of 
our gun was slowly raised, and the bolt, intended 
for the Tecumseh, flew harmlessly over the heads 
of that glorious boat's crew, far down in the 
line of our foes." After saving Ensign Zettich, 
eight men, and the pilot, Nields turned and, 
pulling for the fleet, succeeded in reaching the 
Oneida, where he remained until the close of 
the action. 

A Confederate officer stationed in the water 
battery at Fort Morgan says the manoeuvring 
of the fleet at this juncture, when the vessels 
seemed to be in inextricable confusion and at 
the mercy of their guns, was a magnificent sight. 
When the Hartford dashed forward, they real- 
ized that a grand tactical movement had been 
accomplished. 

The Hartford was nearly a mile ahead before 
the line could be straightened, but the vessels 
were soon able to pour in a storm of shell, 
shrapnel, and grape, that completely silenced 
the batteries. As soon as the torpedo-ground 
was passed, Buchanan in the Tennessee saw 
Farragut's blue flag and made a dash to ram 
the flagship, but it failed and the ships merely 
exchanged shots. The Tennessee then made for 
the Brooklyn, but she sheered and avoided her 
adversary, receiving, however, her broadside at 



The Battle in Mobile Bay 299 

one hundred yards, which perforated her sides, 
doing great damage. The ram then turned her 
attention to the Richmond, but her shot passed 
over that vessel, which also avoided her blow. 
The Monongahela then, gathering way, at- 
tempted to ram the Tennessee, but the two 
vessels collided at an acute angle, a shell from 
the ram exploding on the Kennebec's berth-deck. 
The Tennessee now made for the Oneida, run- 
ning under her stern and delivering two broad- 
sides, wounding Captain Mullaney, who lost an 
arm in the affray. The ram then returned to 
her anchorage under the guns of Fort Morgan. 

Farragut then made the signal : " Gunboats 
chase enemy's gunboats " ; and our smaller ves- 
sels at once cut loose from their consorts and 
started in chase, as directed. The Selma and 
Gaines were speedily disposed of and the Mor- 
gan escaped up the bay to Mobile, leaving the 
Tennessee as the only antagonist to be cared 
for by the fleet. The ships now came to anchor 
about three miles up the bay, and soon the 
Tennessee was seen steaming directly for the 
flagship. 

Farragut at once signalled : " Attack the 
ram, not only with guns, but bows on at full 
speed." The Monongahela dashed for the ram 
at full speed, but the Tennessee, swerving, 
caused the blow to strike obliquely. The ram 
at the same time fired two shots at her an- 
tagonist, piercing her through and through, 



3<x> The American Navy 

while the shots from the Monongahela rolled 
harmlessly down her sloping sides. The Chicka- 
saw also gave the ram one of her solid bolts, 
which penetrated but did little damage. The 
Lackawanna came next at full speed, but her bow 
was stove in by the impact fully three feet above 
and five feet below the water line, while the 
ram received but a slight shock, and moved 
steadily for the Hartford. The flagship now 
took the aggressive and, following the Lacka- 
wanna, struck the ram a fearful blow, pouring 
in a broadside at close range, meanwhile, but 
neither had any effect whatever. 

But now the monitors Manhattan, Winnebago, 
and Chickasaw had closed on the Tennessee and 
by steadily hammering away at her with their 
heavy shot gradually shot away her smoke stack 
and her steering apparatus, while her port 
shutters were jammed and one fifteen-inch bolt 
penetrated her armor. Lieutenant Wharton, 
one of the officers of the Tennessee, thus de- 
scribes the effect of this first discharge at close 
quarters of one of the monstrous fifteen-inch 
solid shot of the Manhattan against the casemate 
of the Tennessee: 

The Monongahela was hardly clear of us when a 
hideous-looking monster came creeping up on our 
port side, whose slowly revolving turret revealed 
the cavernous depths of a mammoth gun. " Stand 
clear of the port side," I cried. A moment after 
a thunderous report shook us all, while a blast of 



The Battle in Mobile Bay 301 

dense, sulphurous smoke covered our port-holes 
and four hundred and forty pounds of iron, im- 
pelled by sixty pounds of powder, admitted day- 
light through our side, where before it struck us 
there had been over two feet of solid wood, covered 
with five inches of solid iron. This was the only 
fifteen-inch shot that struck us fair. It did not 
come through; the inside netting caught the 
splinters, and there were no casualties from it. I 
was glad, however, to find myself alive after that 
shot. 

Flag Officer Buchanan was sorely wounded 
in the leg about this time and the active com- 
mand of the Tennessee devolved upon the fleet 
captain, Commander J. D. Johnston, who at 
last was compelled to surrender the ship. 

This great victory cost the Union fleet three 
hundred and thirty-five lives. Of the one hun- 
dred and thirty in the Tecumseh but seventeen 
were saved and one hundred and thirteen were 
drowned. The other casualties in the fleet w r ere 
fifty-two killed and one hundred and seventy 
wounded. On August 6th Fort Powell was 
evacuated and blow T n up, on the 8th Fort Gaines 
surrendered to the navy, and on the 23d Fort 
Morgan surrendered, and Mobile Bay was again 
opened to the commerce of the world. 

Having now successfully completed his work 
in the Gulf, Farragut returned to the North in 
December, where he was received with every 
possible honor. In April, 1865, he was present 



302 The American Navy 

with President Lincoln when Richmond was oc- 
cupied by our troops, and a few days later he 
visited Norfolk, Virginia, his old home. On July 
25, 1865, Congress passed a law creating the 
grade of Admiral, which had never before ex- 
isted in our navy, and the office was immediately 
conferred upon Farragut. The next year, July 
28, 1867, he was given command of the European 
squadron and hoisted his flag on the Franklin, 
Captain A. H. Pennock, his brother-in-law. 

During the next eighteen months the Admiral, 
accompanied by Mrs. Farragut, who had special 
permission to take passage on board the Frank- 
lin, visited the principal ports of France, Russia, 
Sweden, Norway, England, and the cities of the 
Mediterranean, receiving everywhere marks of 
the most distinguished consideration from the 
principal courts of Europe. 

Admiral Farragut's last official duty was to 
take charge of the naval obsequies of George 
Peabody, when the remains arrived at Portland 
in BL B. M. ship Monarch in January, 1870. 
On August 15, 1870, at the age of sixty-nine, 
Farragut quietly passed away surrounded by his 
family and loving friends, including many of 
his comrades in arms. His remains were ac- 
corded a public funeral and Congress appro- 
priated twenty thousand dollars for a colossal 
bronze statue of the Admiral, which is placed 
in Farragut Square, Washington. 



CHAPTER XXII 

UNITED STATES SHIPS CAST ASHORE BY TIDAL 
WAVES AND HURRICANES. THE " MONONGA- 
HELA," " DE SOTO," AND " WATEREE " CAST 
ASHORE BY TIDAL WAVES 

ON the afternoon of November 18, 1867, 
while the U. S. S. Monongahela, Com- 
modore S. B. Bissell commanding, was at 
anchor off the town of Frederiksted, on the 
Danish island of St. Croix, the weather being 
calm and pleasant and the barometer standing 
at 30° 15', a violent trembling of the ship was 
observed, resembling the blowing off of steam 
from the boilers. This shock lasted some thirty 
seconds and immediately afterward the water 
in the bay was observed receding rapidly from 
the shore. The current, however, changed al- 
most immediately, and bore the ship toward the 
beach, carrying out all the chain cable through 
the hawse pipe, and drawing the bolts from 
the kelson to which it was secured, without the 
slightest effect in checking the terrific force with 
which the ship was carried toward the shore. 

Another anchor was ordered to be let go, but 
in a few seconds the ship was in too shoal water 
for the anchor to be of any avail. When within 

303 



304 The American Navy 

a few yards of the beach the reflux of the tide 
checked the ship's speed for a moment, and a 
light breeze from the land induced Commodore 
Bissell to set the jib and foretop-mast staysail, 
hoping to pay the ship's head off shore and thus 
get her into deeper water. But, to his conster- 
nation, when the sea returned it came in the 
shape of a wall of water twenty-five or thirty 
feet high, carrying the Monongahela over the 
warehouses and landing her, perfectly upright, 
in the first street fronting the bay, directly in 
front of the office where Alexander Hamilton, 
of Revolutionary fame, served in his boyhood as 
a clerk. The reflux of this wave, however, 
carried the ship back toward the beach, leaving 
her nearly perpendicular on a coral reef, where 
she quietly keeled over to an angle of fifteen 
degrees. 

All this was the work of but three minutes 
of time, and soon after the waters of the bay 
subsided into their naturally quiet condition, 
leaving the ship and her crew high and dry on 
the reef. During her progress toward the beach 
the Monongahela struck heavily two or three 
times. The first lurch carried the rifle gun on 
the forecastle overboard. Had the ship been 
carried by the wave ten or fifteen feet further 
out, she must inevitably have gone on her beam- 
ends, probably resulting in the entire destruc- 
tion of the vessel and in the loss of many lives. 
Providentially only three men were lost; these 



U. S. Ships Cast Ashore 305 

were in the boats moored at the booms, at the 
time the earthquake shock commenced, and these 
boats were all swamped. 

On learning the facts in the case the Secretary 
of the Navy promptly despatched the U. S. bark 
Purveyor to St. Croix, with Thomas Davidson, 
naval constructor, for the purpose of get- 
ting the Monongahela afloat, if possible. The 
necessary repairs were at once made to the 
bottom, keel, and rudder part, the ship was 
caulked, launching ways two hundred and forty 
feet long were built, eight large anchors with 
nearly one thousand fathoms of chain cable were 
laid out, and the work of moving the ship was 
commenced. Twenty-five days later the Monon- 
gahela was successfully floated in fourteen and 
a half feet of water, and on May 21st the ship 
steamed out of the bay, arriving at New York 
at 8 p.m. on June 1st. 

The Monongahela was later converted into 
a sailing ship, in which shape she was useful 
for many years. One romantic incident of this 
ship's wreck at St. Croix was the engagement 
and subsequent marriage of two of the Monon- 
gahela-s officers to two fair Danish ladies of 
the island, who took pity upon the forlorn state 
of these shipwrecked mariners. 

On the same day that the Monongahela was 
cast ashore at St. Croix, the island of St. Thomas 
was shaken by the most violent earthquake that 
had heretofore been known in the history of 



306 The American Navy 

the island. The U. S. S. De Soto was swept 
from moorings in the harbor by the terrific forte 
of the tidal wave that followed sharp upon the 
shock. Both of the ship's cables snapped and 
she was thrown violently upon the iron piles of 
a new wharf, lately constructed, but, fortu- 
nately, the receding wave carried the De Soto 
again into deep water and she sustained little 
injury. 

The U. S. S. Susquehanna, also at anchor in 
the harbor at the time, fortunately succeeded 
in getting to sea from her dangerous position 
without any damage. 

THE " WATEREE " 

On the 13th of August, 1868, the U. S. S. 
Wateree, Commander James H. Gillis, and the 
U. S. storeship Fredonia, Captain G. W. Doty, 
were lying quietly at anchor, off the port of 
Arica, Peru. At 5.05 r.M., as the officers of the 
Wateree were coming up from dinner a rumbling 
noise, accompanied by a tremulous motion of 
the ship, was observed. This increased in force 
rapidly, until it was evident that an unusually 
severe shock of an earthquake was taking place. 
The officers rushed on deck and to their dismay 
saw the town of Arica, the plains around and 
the highland to the southward, enveloped in 
clouds of dust, while huge rocks were falling 
from the crest of the Moro into the sea. As the 



U. S. Ships Cast Ashore 307 

wind carried the dust away, it was evident that 
a great number of houses had fallen, while the 
inhabitants were seen frantically rushing hither 
and thither in the street nearest the sea. The 
whole city was soon but a mass of ruins, scarcely 
a house being left standing. 

Meanwhile the ship continued to shake fear- 
fully, as if in a huge caldron of boiling water. 
Orders were at once given to secure the ship's 
battery, have the second anchor ready to let go, 
chain ready to veer, and the hatches battened 
down. At 5.20, as there were no indications 
of the sea coming in, Captain Gillis had a boat 
called away, and taking Surgeon Winslow and 
the paymaster he went on shore to see if he 
could render any assistance to the sufferers. 
There he met Captain Doty, who directed him 
to send on board the Wateree for as many men 
as could be spared to aid in extricating the 
bodies of those buried in the ruins, among whom 
was the wife of Lieutenant-Commander John- 
son of the Wateree. But it was found to be 
impossible to get the boat to the wharf again 
as the sea was, by this time, rapidly receding. 
Captain Gillis, however, took a party and for- 
tunately succeeded in recovering the body of 
Mrs. Johnson, before the water reached the 
place where she was buried in the ruins. 

To return to the Fredonia: Passed Assistant 
Surgeon Dubois and the paymaster left the ship 
about 5.30 to aid the sufferers on shore. At that 



308 The American Navy 

time the water seemed calm and no rising or 
falling was apparent. After landing the sur- 
geon sent the boat back to the ship, but when 
about half way, she was met by a current which 
carried her half a mile to the northward and 
there encountered another current which swept 
her back almost alongside the Fredonia, when 
the men managed to reach their ship. 

The two survivors of that boat's crew said 
they found every preparation had been made 
on board the ship for the expected tidal wave. 
Chain had been hauled on deck, ready for let- 
ting go the sheet anchor, hatches were battened 
down, sail set, and the launch made ready for 
hoisting out. In the course of two hours, 
the men state, while still at her anchorage in 
six fathoms of water, the sea retired bodily, 
leaving the Fredonia on the bottom, where she 
at once careened over on her side and, in a few 
moments, in a great wall and with the force of 
an Alpine avalanche, the sea returned, breaking 
the ship into atoms and washing every living 
being off. 

After this, they say, they saw no one, save 
the wardroom steward, who, with them, regained 
and clung to a portion of the wreck until about 
3 a.m., when the steward, through fatigue or 
delirium, lost his hold and his life. During the 
whole night the sea rose and fell, there being 
seventy-five distinct shocks felt, and the sea was 
agitated as by a thousand adverse currents, 



U. S. Ships Cast Ashore 309 

yet in some way these two sailors managed to 
live it out and after daybreak, sorely battered, 
wounded, and almost exhausted they were res- 
cued by one of the boats of the Peruvian cruiser 
America. 

At 5.32 p.m. of August 13th the Wateree com- 
menced dragging her anchor. A second anchor 
was let go which brought the ship up. Four 
men were stationed at the wheel and after a few 
minutes there was a sudden reflux and the ship 
swung to seaward and more chain was veered 
away, to ninety fathoms. There was an ebb and 
flow of the sea for some little time, the water 
being covered with floating debris. Between 6 
and 7 p.m. there was another tremendous rising 
of the sea and, as it receded, the ship was vio- 
lently swung seaward, the deck stoppers parted, 
the chain flew rapidly out of the hawse pipes, 
tearing away the compartments between the 
chain lockers. The ship now began to drift 
rapidly seaward, when the sea, very suddenly, 
commenced to rush in again, a severe strain 
came upon the chains and the starboard one 
parted close to the hawse pipe and the ship 
rapidly drifted toward shore. 

At this time the Peruvian cruiser America 
went on her beam ends and terrible groans and 
cries were heard proceeding from her crew. The 
English bark Chanarcille was also cast on her 
beam ends and wrecked. At 6.55 the Wateree 
drifted shoreward, among the breakers, and 



310 The American Navy 

several heavy seas broke over her, but did little 
injury. Life lines were now got up fore and 
aft and at 7.20 p.m. the ship took bottom, close 
up to a high bank, about four hundred and 
seventy yards from and twelve feet above high 
water-mark. When first beached the Wateree was 
lying about broadside to the sea coming in, but 
was finally washed around until she lay head 
on the beach. 

Commander Gillis reports that he had the 
height to which the solid sea wave rose meas- 
ured and found it to be forty-two feet and five 
inches, while the wash was from ten to fifteen 
feet higher. To show the power of the waves 
it is a noticeable fact that almost all the bodies 
which were recovered were absolutely naked. 
Nine bodies from the Fredonia were found, 
recognized, and buried, some showing few 
bruises, others horribly mutilated. Two Ameri- 
can ladies lost their lives in this calamity, one 
Mrs. Dyer, wife of the executive officer of the 
Fredonia, the other Mrs. Johnson, who was 
crushed to death in the arms of her husband, 
while he was bearing her from the house on shore 
in which they were dwelling, whilst by a miracle 
he himself escaped. 

The only persons saved from the entire crew 
of the Fredonia were Captain G. W. Doty, Pay- 
master W. W. Williams, Passed Assistant Sur- 
geon F. L. Dubois, Master-at-Arms Charles 
Seville, and Quartermaster August Tanner. 



U. S. Ships Cast Ashore 311 

It being found by report of a board of sur- 
vey that the cost of launching the Wateree 
would be much greater than her value, the ship 
was sold as she lay, and she was finally con- 
verted into a summer hotel. 

THE LOSS OP THE U. S. S. " SAGINAW " AND THE 1500- 
MILE TRIP OF HER BOAT IN SEARCH OF AID 

On October 28, 1871, Commander Montgomery 
Sicard, in command of the U. S. S. Saginaw, a 
small side-wheel steamer of three hundred tons, 
with two guns, started from Midway Island, in 
the Pacific Ocean, for Ocean Island, one hun- 
dred miles to the westward, to rescue any seamen 
that might have been wrecked there. Ocean 
Island was out of the ordinary track of vessels 
in that part of the Pacific, it was uninhabited, 
was without water, and had little vegetation. 
There would, therefore, be little chance of sus- 
taining life for any one unfortunate enough to 
be cast away upon its inhospitable shores. 

It was surely by the very irony of fate that 
the gallant commander and the officers and crew 
of the Saginaw were destined themselves to 
spend an extended term upon this desolate and 
lonely island. 

On October 29th, while the Saginaw was run- 
ning slowly in the darkness, she suddenly ran 
on an uncharted reef, outlying the island 
for which she was bound, and speedily became 



312 The American Navy 

a wreck. With great exertion and by the ex- 
ercise of much energy and skill all on board, 
officers, men, and a wrecking party that had been 
taken from Midway Island, were safely landed, 
with a small allowance of provisions and 
materials rescued from the wreck. 

Cast upon the shores of an uninhabited 
island, with the most scanty means of subsist- 
ence, out of the range of travel, and more than 
one thousand miles from the nearest port of 
refuge or relief, Commander Sicard then dis- 
played the benefits of the comprehensive edu- 
cation and the careful training he had received 
in the preparation for his naval career. A strict 
system of discipline was at once established, with 
the most careful rules for daily life. Whatever 
could be saved from the wreck was secured and 
properly cared for. Measures were immediately 
taken to keep up the health and spirits of the 
crew. Fresh water was each day distilled by 
means of an old boiler, taken from the wreck, 
and everything was carefully organized to avoid 
the slightest waste of provisions, material or 
labor. 

Upon examination the captain's gig was found 
to be the boat best fitted for service and she 
was carefully overhauled, repaired, provisioned, 
and equipped for a voyage of fifteen hundred 
miles to Honolulu, where Commander Sicard 
had decided to send her for assistance. Lieu- 
tenant John G. Talbot, executive officer of the 



U. S. Ships Cast Ashore 3 J 3 

Saginaw, volunteered to take charge of her and 
four men also volunteered to accompany him 
on the long and perilous trip. 

All being ready, on November 18th, the boat 
left Ocean Island amid the hearty cheers of 
their shipmates and after a tedious passage of 
thirty-one days, during which they encountered 
terrible difficulties, much privation, and in- 
tolerable suffering they at last arrived, on 
December 19th, off the Island of Kauai, one of 
the Hawaiian group. 

They had previously lost their oars in a storm 
and in consequence, in attempting to land in 
the surf, Lieutenant Talbot and three of his men, 
already very much exhausted by privation and 
suffering, were unfortunately drowned. William 
Halford, alone of the boat's crew, survived and 
reached the shore with the despatches from 
Commander Sicard. Mr. Pierce, our Minister 
to the Sandwich Islands, at once chartered a 
vessel, which, with a Hawaiian steamer tendered 
by the local government, sailed for Ocean Island 
and in due time rescued the officers and crew 
of the Saginaw. 

After the departure of the captain's gig from 
Ocean Island, work upon the construction of a 
small schooner from the wreck of the Saginaw 
was vigorously pushed by Commander Sicard, 
and this vessel was rapidly approaching com- 
pletion when the rescue party from the Hawaiian 
Islands reached the shipwrecked party. 



314 The American Navy 

The Secretary of the Navy says in his re- 
port: 

The death of Lieutenant Talbot closed a career 
of unusual promise and in it the navy lost a bril- 
liant and beloved member, a skilful sailor, an ac- 
complished officer and a Christian gentleman. It 
is difficult to estimate how much of danger and 
suffering, perhaps of death, was saved through the 
courage and endurance of that gallant boat's crew. 

THE HURRICANE AT SAMOA AND THE LOSS OF THE 
AMERICAN SQUADRON 

Few of the great calamities at sea can be 
compared in tragic interest and varied dramatic 
effects with the catastrophe at Apia, island of 
Samoa, in March, 1889. Early in the year, in 
consequence of the increasing friction between 
the German officials and our consular repre- 
sentatives in Samoa, the U. S. ships Nipsic and 
Vandalia were hurried over to Apia, followed 
shortly by Rear Admiral Kimberly in the 
Trenton. All these vessels came to the support 
of the Adams, Commander Richard Leary, who 
had intervened with his vessel to prevent the 
German cruiser Adler from shelling the village 
of Apia. Commander Leary notified Captain 
Fritze, of that vessel, " If you fire upon the 
village you must fire through the ship which I 
have the honor to command and I shall not be 
answerable for the consequences."' This speech 



U. S. Ships Cast Ashore 315 

gave to the over-zealous German officer pause for 
thought and meanwhile, to Leary's infinite re- 
lief, Admiral Kiniberly arrived on the scene 
with the Trenton. 

The Trenton arrived on the 11th of March; 
on the 12th and 13th the wind had been steadily 
freshening all the time from the south but, as 
yet, there was little sea. The barometer was 
low and in anticipation of heavy weather the 
Admiral ordered lower yards sent down, the 
topmasts housed, steam raised, and storm main- 
and mizzen-staysails bent. As just before the 
arrival of the Trenton there had been heavy 
gales at Apia, the local pilots did not expect 
a hurricane, but predicted merely heavy rains. 

Admiral Kimberly, however, was not quite 
so optimistic, yet he could not but believe that 
with steam up, four heavy anchors down, and 
his top-hamper housed, he could safely ride out 
any probable gale — he did not anticipate a 
hurricane. 

At midnight on the 15th the Trenton was 
riding to her four anchors, with long scope of 
chains, with steam to relieve the straining- 
cables, hatches battened down, all hands on 
deck, and men at the wheel. The wind was 
howling, yet the ship rode steadily, considering 
the very heavy seas that were rushing into the 
harbor and steadily increasing in power and 
magnitude with the wind. When striking the 
ship great sheets of water were thrown up from 



316 The American Navy 

the bows and borne by the wind over the lower 
mastheads, then falling on deck deluged it 
faster than the scuppers could free it. The air 
was filled with foam and spray, so that in 
the gusts one could hardly look to windward, 
for the eyes could not bear the pain of the 
constant beating spatter. On shore people had 
to protect their eyes and faces by holding up 
shingles, or whatever they could find, to keep 
from being blinded by the drifting sand borne 
along by the gale. 

This was the condition of affairs when a re- 
port came from the main deck that the star- 
board bridle port was stove in by the sea, killing 
one of the crew. As this port was about four 
feet square, such an opening meant incalculable 
danger to the ship, and it required immediate 
attention, though certainly attended with great 
risk. Gunner Westfall in his report says: 

At 7.30 a.m. I heard the word passed that the 
starboard bridle port on the gun-deck had been burst 
in by the sea, and I knew that the ship was gone 
if we did not keep the water out in some way. I 
called for volunteers and went forward. Every 
plunge the ship made, water came pouring in 
through a space six feet by four, completely flood- 
ing the gun-deck. I ordered capstan bars and ham- 
mocks to be brought at once, and we began our 
fight for life. A capstan bar was needed outside 
the ship to hold in place the material that we were 
using to block the port with, and with the help of 



U. S. Ships Cast Ashore 317 

one man I got it in place; then I saw that the 
two tackles must be hooked to the bar so that we 
could pull our barricade in place. No one would 
go out to put the straps on the bar, and I said, 
" Well, I will go." The men begged me not to at- 
tempt it, and even tried to hold me back; but I 
went out, at what I thought a favorable opportu- 
nity, and did the work. It was not a moment too 
soon, however, as a monstrous sea came in as I 
was being hauled back, and God help me if I had 
been five seconds later. Then we got a table, and, 
standing it up with both tackles hooked behind, we 
began to pile hammocks in front, and for five hours 
we had the most desperate struggle. As every sea 
came in we would be knocked down, and, what was 
worse, some of the barricade would be driven in. 
Oh, God ! what discouragement ! I did n't dare to 
give in, however, for if I did the men would give 
up, and all would be lost, so we worked on. After 
each sea knocked us flat, we would get up and with 
a cheer make a rush for the barricade, stuffing in 
mattresses and using capstan bars to ram them 
home with. At last we got a good barricade built, 
but still the water came in fearfully, so we built 
another barricade of lumber, abaft the first, and 
forced the water to run out through the water- 
closet chutes, and thus very little water ran aft. 

Now comes some one saying, " Mr. Westfall, the 
ventilator holes are open on the spar-deck and the 
water is pouring down them," so I called Boat- 
swain's Mate Gray and asked him if he would go on 
the forecastle with me, and nail some canvas over 
the hole. We went up on the spar-deck, and crawled 
along to the forecastle and got to work. About one 



318 The American Navy 

minute afterward we were both struck by a sea 
and were hurled one hundred feet aft. When I re- 
covered my senses two men were dragging me out 
from a mass of wreckage near the main-mast. I 
tried to stand; no use, the last sea had been too 
much ; I was half drowned and my right foot was 
hurt. Thus ended this trying incident. 

All this time the sea was increasing until the 
waves were running mountains high and, yield- 
ing to the tremendous strain, the Trenton's 
chain cables parted, one after another, until 
at last the ship was riding to the starboard 
sheet anchor alone, with ninety fathoms of chain 
out. At 7 a.m. the wheel was wrecked with a 
crash, the two helmsmen were thrown over it, 
and their legs were broken, beside suffering other 
injuries. This was caused by the breaking of 
the rudder-post and the unshipping of the 
rudder. From this time on there was nothing 
to be done to control the drift of the ship but 
through the use of the storm try-sails. Water 
was also gaining in the hold over the pumps 
and before 10 a.m. the furnace fires were ex- 
tinguished and the Admiral knew that losing 
the use of the steam pumps the water could not 
be kept down by the hand pumps, as it was 
coming in through the hawse holes in volumes. 

The hand pumps were, nevertheless, manned 
and four hundred pairs of strong arms kept them 
going to the chanty " Blow a man down," when 
on looking astern into the thick curtain of misty 



U. S. Ships Cast Ashore 319 

haze the hull of a large ship was discerned ad- 
vancing slowly, very slowly, now up high on the 
crest of the sea, and then down so low that 
only her tops could be seen. It was the Eng- 
lish ship-of-war Calliope bearing directly down 
upon the Trenton. Taking her chances of being 
sunk by collision at her anchors, or running the 
gauntlet of the reefs for the open sea, she had 
slipped her cables and passed the Trenton so 
closely as to put her foreyard over the deck of 
the American ship and as she lifted to the sea 
and rolled to port she just cleared the Trenton, 
and managed also to clear the outside reef by 
some sixty yards. 

The English Captain Kane writes: 

Throughout the whole gale nothing affected the 
crew of the Calliope and myself so much as when 
passing the American flagship Trenton, which was 
lying helpless with nothing to guard her from com- 
plete destruction, the American Admiral and his 
men gave us three such ringing cheers that they 
called forth tears from many of our eyes; they 
pierced deep into my heart, and I will ever re- 
member that mighty outburst of fellow feeling, 
which I felt came from the bottom of the hearts 
of the noble and gallant Admiral and his men. 
Every man on board the Calliope felt as I did, it 
made us work to win. God bless America and her 
noble sailors. 

The London Telegraph, said of this incident: 



320 The American Navy 

We do not know in all naval records any sound 
which makes a finer music upon the ear than that 
cheer of the Trenton's men : it was distressed man- 
hood greeting triumphant manhood, the doomed 
saluting the saved ; it was pluckier and more human 
than any cry ever raised upon the deck of a vic- 
torious line-of-battle-ship ; it never can be forgot- 
ten and never must be forgotten by Englishmen in 
speaking of Americans. 

The Trenton slowly dragged her laboring way 
all the remainder of that long day to the end 
of the anchorage, fortunately not striking the 
reefs as she swerved from one side of the harbor 
to the other, and, after pounding on the hard 
coral bottom, the ship gradually brought up and 
gave up her life alongside of her submerged 
sister, the Yandalia, whose masts, bowsprit, and 
forecastle were the only visible parts of her 
left above the water. Her lower rigging and 
tops w T ere crowded with her crew and officers, 
who were rescued by sending rockets with lines 
attached into her tops, thereby establishing con- 
nection between the two ships. When the 
Trenton finally brought up on the beach along- 
side the Yandalia, she gradually settled down 
and sunk by her side. 

The Yandalia lost forty-three men and four 
officers, including her commander, Captain C. 
M. Schoonmaker, who was drowned. The school- 
master of the Yandalia writes: 

About 3 p.m. after our ship struck, there were 



U. S. Ships Cast Ashore 321 

left on the poop Captain Schoonmaker, Lieutenants 
J. W. Carlin and A. W. Sutton, Paymaster Arms, 
and about eight of the crew, the rest having taken 
to the rigging. The paymaster received a cut over 
his right eye, which seemed to stun him and the 
next large wave, coming high, broke his hold on 
the rail and carried him away. The next to go 
was Lieutenant of Marines Sutton. He seemed 
stunned and lay down on the deck making no ef- 
fort to save himself and he was carried away on 
the top of a swell. Captain Schoonmaker lay be- 
tween the Catling gun and the howitzer, on the 
port side. One of the legs of the Gatling broke 
and he was fearful of its falling and crushing him. 
Lieutenant Carlin, back of the captain, rendered 
all the assistance possible, but it was of no use. 
Sea after sea breaking over him gradually weak- 
ened him, until a great wave striking us broke 
the captain's hold and he was swept away into 
the sea, " striking the rail as he went over. The 
succeeding wave took him and he was seen no more. 



The Nipsic, which had lost seven men, 
was finally hauled off the beach and saved 
by the efforts of her executive officer, Lieu- 
tenant J. M. Hawley. The surviving officers 
and crews of the Trenton, Vandalia, and Nijisic 
were sent to San Francisco in a chartered 
steamer. 

The German AdJer was lifted by the waves 
over the edge of the reef and landed over one 
hundred and fifty feet on its table-like surface, 



322 The American Navy 

on her side, with her deck facing the shore and 
perpendicular to the reef on which she lay. 
Part of her keel was torn off and she lost twenty 
men. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE " MAINE " 

NO record of romantic incidents in the history 
of the American Navy would be complete 
that omitted an account of the destruction of 
the battleship Maine in the harbor of Havana in 
February, 1898 — an incident that became the 
prelude to a momentous struggle that six months 
later left Spain stripped of all her colonial pos- 
sessions in both hemispheres and with her naval 
power annihilated. 

For two years the United States Government 
had been striving zealously to fulfil her treaty 
obligations towards Spain, and only at the last 
was our ambassador authorized to demand the 
recall of Captain-General Weyler from Cuba 
under threat of our armed intervention. With 
an ill grace Spain acceeded to our demands and 
Captain General Blanco was sent October 2, 
1897, to relieve Weyler. 

In April, 1897, the Maine, under command 
of Captain Charles Dwight Sigsbee, was ordered 
to the North Atlantic squadron, commanded by 
Rear Admiral Montgomery Sicard. On October 
12th, she was sent to Port Royal, where she 
remained until November 15th, when she was 

3 2 3 



324 The American Navy 

ordered to Norfolk, and, on December 12th, 
proceeded to Key West, with orders to be in 
readiness to steam to Havana at a moment's 
notice. 

During the last months of the year 1897, soon 
after the recall of Captain-General Weyler, our 
consular representatives in Cuba pointed out to 
the home government the desirability of a visit 
to Cuban waters of one or more of our national 
ships to accustom the people to the presence of 
our flag and our warships in the fulfilment of 
their mission of protection to American citizens 
and their interests. In compliance with these 
requests, and after conference with the Spanish 
authorities, it was decided on January 21, 1898, 
to send the Maine to Havana, and our Govern- 
ment was officially notified that it was the in- 
tention of the Spanish Government to send their 
armored cruiser Vizcaya to New York, as a 
return of our courtesy. 

On January 25th, the Maine entered the port 
of Havana, and she was taken by a government 
pilot to a mooring-buoy where no man-of-war 
had ever before been moored, and but rarely a 
merchant ship. During the next few days Cap- 
tain Sigsbee and his officers made the usual 
visits of ceremony upon the Captain-General and 
other high officials of Havana, and these visits 
were returned ; but a noticeable lack of warmth 
in the ceremonious visits was observed, while 
the attitude of the Spanish residents of Havana 



The Destruction of the "Maine" 325 

to our officers was distinctly reserved and in 
some cases almost insulting. It was made very 
evident in many ways that the visit of the Maine 
was anything but welcome. 

On February 15th, at 9.40 p.m., while several 
officers were on shore, and nearly all the crew 
were asleep in their hammocks, a terrific ex- 
plosion, followed by a second shock, tore the 
forward part of the Maine into pieces, causing 
her to sink almost instantly to the bottom, in 
thirty feet of water, with the loss of two officers 
and two hundred and sixty-four men out of a 
total of twenty-six officers and three hundred 
and thirty-one men. 

Captain Sigsbee was sitting at the table in his 
cabin, just closing a letter to his family, when 
he felt the crash of the explosion. He says in 
his report: 

It was a bursting, rending, and crashing sound, 
or roar, of immense volume, largely metallic in its 
character. It was succeeded by a metallic sound — 
probably of falling debris — a trembling and lurch- 
ing motion of the vessel, then an impression of 
subsidence, attended by an eclipse of the electric 
lights and intense darkness within the cabin. I 
knew immediately that the Maine had been blown 
up and that she was sinking. I hurried to the 
starboard cabin ports, thinking it might be neces- 
sary for me to make my exit in that way. Upon 
looking out I decided that I could go by the passage 
leading to the superstructure. I therefore took the 



326 The American Navy 

latter route, feeling my way along and steadying 
myself by the bulkheads. The superstructure was 
filled with smoke and it was dark. Nearing the 
outer entrance I met Private Anthony, the orderly 
at the cabin-door at the time. He ran into me, and, 
as I remember, apologized in some fashion, and 
reported to me that the ship had been blown up 
and was sinking. 

Captain Sigsbee reached the quarter-deck, 
where he found the executive officer, Lieutenant- 
Commander Kichard Wainwright, and other 
officers, and learned that the exact time of the 
explosion was 9.49 p.m. He then proceeded to 
the poop-deck and ordered the executive officer 
to post sentries all around the ship, " but soon 
saw there were no marines available and no 
place forward to post them." 

About this time fire broke out in the mass 
forward, over the central superstructure, and the 
only two remaining boats were lowered to assist 
in saving the wounded, in conjunction with the 
boats that had by that time arrived from the 
steamer City of Washington and the Spanish 
frigate Alphonso XII. , which were at once sent 
to the relief of the Maine. 

The shocking news of this disaster appeared 
in all the principal newspapers of the United 
States on the morning of February 16th, in a 
brief despatch from Captain Sigsbee to the Navy 
Department, in which he prudently added to 
the particulars given the words, " Public 



The Destruction of the "Maine" 327 

opinion should be suspended until further 
report." 

Since that other telegram that brought to the 
North the news of the opening of the Confed- 
erate batteries upon Fort Sumter, thirty-seven 
years before, nothing had so stirred the hearts 
of the American people as this appalling ca- 
lamity. The lesson of self-control conveyed in 
Captain Sigsbee's calm words was indeed needed 
to prevent a great popular outburst of rage at 
that moment. But with admirable restraint the 
people and their representatives in Congress 
awaited further developments. 

Preparations were at once made for an ex- 
pert examination of the wreck of the Maine, and 
Rear Admiral Sicard, commanding the squad- 
ron at Key West, presided in a Court of In- 
quiry, composed of Captain W. T. Sampson of 
the Iowa; Captain French E. Chadwick of the 
New York; Lieutenant-Commander William P. 
Potter, executive officer of the New York; and 
Lieutenant-Commander Adolph Marix as Judge 
Advocate. Divers were sent to Havana and 
professional wreckers from New York were se- 
cured. After a deliberate and very careful ex- 
amination, a report was sent to the President, 
and by him communicated to Congress on March 
28th. 

After a technical description of the condition 
in which the board found the hull of the Maine, 
the report says : 



328 The American Navy 

In the opinion of the Court, this effect could have 
been produced only by the explosion of a mine 
situated under the bottom of the ship at about 
frame eighteen and somewhat on the port side of 
the ship. 

The Court finds that the loss of the Maine was 
not in any respect due to fault or negligence on 
the part of any of the officers or members of the 
crew of said vessel. 

In the opinion of the Court the Maine was de- 
stroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which 
caused the partial explosion of two or more of her 
forward magazines. 

The Court also found " that no evidence has 
been obtainable fixing the responsibility for the 
destruction of the Maine upon any person or 
persons." 

The testimony taken before the Court was 
given with the report, and the almost universal 
opinion of the country was confirmed that the 
Maine had been deliberately and treacherously 
destroyed by the Spaniards. That this opinion 
was shared by the Administration was shown 
by the fact that closely following upon the re- 
ceipt of the report of the Court of Inquiry, on 
April 11th, the Senate Committee on Foreign 
Relations sent in a report endeavoring to fix 
the responsibility for the destruction of the 
Maine. This report says: 

It is the opinion of your committee, having con- 
sidered the testimony submitted to the Board of 



The Destruction of the "Maine" 329 

Inquiry, in connection with further testimony taken 
by the committee and with the relevant and es- 
tablished facts presented by the events of the last 
three years, that the destruction of the Maine was 
compassed either by the official act of the Spanish 
authorities or was made possible by a negligence 
on their part so willing and gross as to be equiva- 
lent in culpability to positive criminal action. . . . 
It is established that the Maine was destroyed by 
the explosion of a submarine mine, in position un- 
der her in a Spanish harbor, at a place where she 
had been moored to a buoy by the express direction 
and guidance of the Spanish authorities. Explo- 
sive contrivances of this character are almost ex- 
clusively government agencies of warfare. There 
is no operation of a pacific character for which they 
can be employed, excepting the removal of wrecks 
or of harbor obstructions. They are not to be had 
in any place of private sale. . . . The entire con- 
trivance is a mechanism of a somewhat complicated 
character, not generally understood except by spe- 
cial manufacturers or by military or naval officers 
who have been instructed how to operate it. Such 
mines, when sunk in harbors, are almost invariably 
discharged by an electric current conducted over 
a wire leading from the engine of destruction to 
some place on the shore where a battery can be 
housed, guarded, and attended by trained operators. 
They are now placed, or made ready to be placed, 
in all important harbors; it may fairly be presumed 
that they had been placed in the harbor of Havana, 
the history of the last three years being considered. 

Soon after, President McKinley sent in his 



33° The American Navy 

famous message to Congress on Cuban affairs, 
asking Congress to empower him to end hostil- 
ities in Cuba and to secure the establishment 
of a stable government, capable of maintaining 
order and observing its international obligations. 
This message was referred to the Foreign 
Eelations Committees of both Houses, and on 
April 13th they reported as follows: 

Resolved, That the President is hereby authorized 
and directed to intervene at once to stop the war 
in Cuba, to the end and with the purpose of se- 
curing permanent peace and order there, and es- 
tablishing by the free action of the people thereof 
a stable and independent government of their own 
in the island of Cuba; and the President is hereby 
authorized and empowered to use the land and 
naval forces of the United States to execute the 
purpose of this resolution. 

This resolution passed the House by a vote 
of 324 to 19 and was sent to the Senate, where 
a new report was presented and sent back to 
the House for concurrence; but it was not until 
April 18th that an agreement was reached be- 
tween the two bodies, by which the Senate 
majority resolutions were adopted, as follows: 

Whereas, The abhorrent conditions which have ex- 
isted for more than three years in the island of 
Cuba, so near our own borders, have shocked the 
moral sense of the people of the United States, 
have been a disgrace to Christian civilization, cul- 



The Destruction of the " Maine" 331 

minating as they have in the destruction of a United 
States battle-ship with two hundred and sixty-six 
of its officers and crew, while on a friendly visit 
in the harbor of Havana, and cannot longer be en- 
dured, as has been set forward by the President of 
the United States in his message to Congress of 
April 11, 1898, upon which the action of Congress 
was invited: Therefore, 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Represen- 
tatives of the United States of America in Congress 
assembled: 

First. That the people of the island of Cuba are, 
and of right ought to be, free and independent. 

Second. That it is the duty of the United States 
to demand and the Government of the United States 
does hereby demand, that the Government of Spain 
at once relinquish its authority and government in 
the island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and 
naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters. 

Third. That the President of the United States 
be, and he hereby is, directed and empowered to 
use the entire land and naval forces of the United 
States, and to call into the actual service of the 
United States the militia of the several States, to 
such extent as may be necessary to carry these 
resolutions into effect. 

Fourth. That the United States hereby disclaims 
any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, 
jurisdiction, or control over said island except for 
the pacification thereof, and assert its determina- 
tion, when this is accomplished, to leave the govern- 
ment and control of the island to its people. 

These joint resolutions were adopted by 42 



33 2 The American Navy 

to 35 in the Senate and 311 to 6 in the 
House. They were approved by the President on 
April 20th, and a copy was sent early on the 
morning of the 21st to the Spanish Minister 
Seiior Polo y Bernabe, who at once asked for 
his passports and left the country. The Span- 
ish ministry, having heard of the passage of the 
resolutions by Congress, sent our Minister his 
passports on April 21st, and war with Spain 

was declared on April 25, 1898, as follows: 

■ 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives of the United States of America in 
Congress assembled: 

First. That war be, and the same is, hereby de- 
clared to exist, and that war has existed since the 
twenty-first day of April anno Domini eighteen 
hundred and ninety-eight, including said day, be- 
tween the United States of America and the 
Kingdom of Spain. 

Second. That the President of the United States 
be, and he hereby is, directed and empowered to 
use the entire land and naval forces of the United 
States, and to call into actual service of the United 
States the militia of the several States, to such 
extent as may be necessary to carry this act into 
effect. 

Thus, within sixty-four days after the destruc- 
tion of the Maine in the harbor of Havana, Spain 
and the United States had entered into a con- 
test of arms that ended eighty-two days later — 
on August 12, 1S9S, when the protocol of peace 



An Afternoon at Cardenas 333 

was signed in Washington by M. Jules Cambon, 
the French Ambassador, acting under the au- 
thority of the Spanish Government. The ter- 
mination of hostilities was followed by a treaty 
of peace, by which Spain was forever divested 
of all her remaining American colonies, as well 
as her possessions in the Philippine Islands and 
Guam, while her navy had been practically swept 
from the ocean in the battles of Manila Bay 
and Santiago. Perhaps never before in history 
had retribution been so swift and so decisive, 
and Spain had certainly very good cause to 
" Remember the Maine! " 

AN AFTERNOON AT CARDENAS 

During the month of May, 1898, the gun- 
boat Macluas, Commander John F. Merry, the 
Wilmington, Commander C. C. Todd, the 
torpedo-boat Winslow, Lieutenant John B. 
Bernadou, and the revenue cutter Hudson, 
Lieutenant F. EL Newcomb, were blockading 
the coast of Cuba, from Cardenas to Matanzas. 
It had become known to the blockaders that 
three small Spanish gunboats were lying at the 
wharves in Cardenas, and the matter of getting 
at these vessels was the current topic of dis- 
cussion among the officers of the little fleet. 

Cardenas Bay is a great shoal water lagoon, 
twenty-five miles long and six wide, shut off 
from the sea by a long peninsula on the west 
and having an irregular chain of small islands. 



334 The American Navy 

The main channel had but ten and one half 
feet of water at one place and but fifteen feet 
in several miles of its course, so that the Span- 
ish ships felt reasonably safe at their pier. But, 
after consultation with the commanding officers, 
Commander Merry, as senior officer, on May 
9th sent the Winslow into the bay to endeavor 
to draw the enemy. Lieutenant Bernadou ran 
his vessel up to within a mile or so of the town 
and opened fire upon it with his little one- 
pounders. The Machias followed her to the 
chain of islands, where the water shoals, which 
was as far as it was prudent for her to go. The 
fire of the Winsloiv seemed to exasperate the 
enemy and one of the Spanish gunboats steamed 
out in chase. Retreating slowly the Winsloiv 
enticed the gunboat out until she came within 
long range of the Machias, when Commander 
Merry opened fire, landing a six-pound shell at 
the first shot. The Spaniard at once turned and 
made the best of her way back to her pier. A 
channel mine was exploded at the same time 
near the Winsloic, but it did no damage. 

On the morning of the 11th a channel, not 
often used, was sounded out and at one o'clock 
in the afternoon, the Wilmington, the Winsloiv, 
and the Hudson passed through this and ran 
up the bay toward the town, the Winslow lead- 
ing, as she had the lightest draught of the three 
vessels. Arriving at a point within a mile and 
a half of the town the Wilmington stopped, and 



An Afternoon at Cardenas 335 

Lieutenant Bernadou was ordered to run in 
and cut out one of the Spanish gunboats. It was 
no light task for the little torpedo-boat to under- 
take, to run a mile and a half to cut out a 
vessel, larger than herself, defended by the guns 
of two other gunboats and by the troops on 
shore, but Bernadou did not hesitate a moment 
and drove the Winslow at full speed for half 
a mile toward the town. Then he found his 
ship running between lines of little red buoys, 
which seemed to mark a channel, but he was 
soon undeceived when a shore battery opened 
fire with an accuracy that showed the buoys 
were placed to mark the range. 

The second shot crashed through the Win- 
slow's bow and passing aft completely wrecked 
her steering gear, leaving her helpless. A mo- 
ment later one of the Spanish gunboats began 
firing, and the Winslow was not slow in replying 
from her three one-pounders. The next shot 
from the battery knocked a large splinter of 
steel from the Winslow's deck. It buried itself 
in Bernadou's groin, making a serious wound, 
but he bound a towel around it and shoved a 
one-pound shell into the towel, as a tourniquet. 
That checking the flow of blood, Bernadou ran 
aft to get the hand steering-gear rigged. Before 
he could get there, however, another shot 
wrecked that also and as he paused to consider 
what next to do, a man from below reported 
one boiler pierced and one engine wrecked by a 



33& The American Navy 

shell. The Winslow was now lying motionless 
under the combined fire of three of the enemy's 
gunboats and a shore battery. 

It was now that the great resourcefulness of 
our men was shown. The boiler was spouting 
scalding steam, but the engineers cut off its con- 
nections and disconnected the smashed engine 
cylinder. Then with one boiler and a part of 
an engine brave Bernadou ordered them to 
steam ahead to change the range of the enemy's 
guns. Having no steering-gear, however, the 
Winslow was nearly unmanageable, and Ensign 
Worth Bagley was stationed at the engine-room 
hatch to pass orders below to go ahead or back, 
from time to time. Suddenly a shell came on 
board and struck Bagley, who staggered for- 
ward to the signal mast, clutched at it vainly, 
and sank down dead with his arms around it. 
A half dozen others were knocked about the 
deck, although not seriously injured. Then 
came the Hudson to the rescue and sturdy Cap- 
tain Newcomb brought his vessel within reach 
and throwing a towline to the Winslow started 
off regardless of the fire of the Spaniards, as 
leisurely as he might have taken a lighter in 
tow in the North River. A shot parted the line, 
but he came alongside and made fast again, 
while the Wilmington steamed up in range, shot 
one of the gunboats to pieces, and fired the town 
with her shells. Our loss in the affair was five 
killed and three wounded. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

DEWEY IN MANILA BAY 

ON Friday, February 15, 1898, at 9.40 p.m. 
the battleship Maine was blown up while 
at anchor in the harbor of Havana. Ten days 
later, on Monday, February 25th, the Navy 
Department sent the following cablegram to 
Commodore George Dewey at Yokohama, Japan : 

Secret and confidential. Order the squadron, ex- 
cept Monocacy, to Hongkong. Keep full of coal. 
In the event of declaration of war, Spain, your 
duty will be to see that the Spanish squadron does 
not leave the Asiatic coast, and then offensive opera- 
tions in Philippine Islands. Keep Olympia until 
further orders. [The Olympia had previously been 
ordered home.] 

In this connection, in a letter to his sister, 
from Hong-kong, written early in April, Dewey 
says: 

We are still waiting for the declaration of war, 
to begin our work out here. I have seven men-of- 
war all ready for action, and, should war be the 
word, I believe we will make short work of the 
Spanish reign in the Philippines. The insurgents 
are ready to rise at our first gun, and long before 

22 337 



338 The American Navy 

this reaches you we may be masters of Manila and 
the Philippine cities. ... I believe I am not over- 
confident in saying that with the force under my 
command, I could enter the Bay of Manila, cap- 
ture or destroy the Spanish squadron and reduce 
the defences in one day. 1 

The Olympia, Raleigh, and the Petrel were 
then at Hong-kong; the Baltimore, at Honolulu; 
the Boston, at Chemulpo, Corea; and the Con- 
cord, at sea between Yokohama and Chemulpo. 
April 7th Dewey was cabled to " land all wood- 
work, and stores not necessary for operations," 
on April 21st he was notified that " war may 
be declared at any moment," and, on April 24th, 
he received the final momentous telegram, " War 
has commenced between the United States and 
Spain. Proceed at once to Philippine Islands. 
Commence operations at once, particularly 
against the Spanish fleet. You must capture 
vessels or destroy. Use utmost endeavors." 
The same day, at the request of the Governor 
of Hong-kong, the Boston, Concord, Petrel, and 
McCulloeh left port, followed the next morning 
by the Olympia, the Baltimore, and the Raleigh. 
These vessels assembled in Mirs Bay, on the 
mainland of China, thirty miles from Hong- 
kong, and on April 27th they started on the 
voyage, of six hundred miles, across the China 
Sea, to the Philippines. With the little fleet 

1 Dewey's Life and Letters, p. 198. 




ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY 



Dewey in Manila Bay 339 

were two supply steamers Dewey had purchased, 
the Nanshan, with three thousand tons of coal, 
and the Zafiro with six months' supplies for the 
ships. 

On the morning of April 30th the little squad- 
ron arrived off Cape Balinao, on the island of 
Luzon, about one hundred miles north of Manila 
Bay, and steamed leisurely down the coast at 
a speed of eight knots. Suspecting that Ad- 
miral Montojo might come out to meet them, 
the Baltimore, Boston, and Concord were sent 
ahead at a higher rate of speed, to reconnoitre 
Subig Bay, but no signs of an enemy were found 
when the entire fleet arrived at five o'clock. 

It was learned later that Montojo had been 
at Subig Bay from the 26th to the 29th of the 
month, but had then returned to Manila and 
anchored his fleet in line of battle across the 
mouth of Bacoor Bay, where the Cavite naval 
station is situated. He was notified by tele- 
graph from Subig Bay that the American fleet 
left there at seven o'clock on the evening of 
April 30th. He was still further informed of 
Dewey's presence, at midnight, by the gun fire 
off Corregidor. 

Steaming quietly on past the northern en- 
trance to Manila Bay, shortly after eleven o'clock 
that night, Dewey turned to the eastward and 
proceeded into the larger opening, called Boca 
Grande, which, being five miles wide, prac- 
tically precluded any danger from torpedoes. 



34° The American Navy 

There were batteries of heavy rifled guns, how- 
ever, on Corregidor and the small island, El 
Fraile. The squadron was steaming in column, 
no lights showing, and the crew were called 
to quarters as the ships headed in, fully expect- 
ing an attack from the batteries. But strange 
to say no sign came from the enemy until the 
McCulloch came abreast of Corregidor, when 
a few shots were fired from El Fraile, that did 
no damage. It was now a few minutes after 
midnight of Sunday morning, May 1st, and the 
initial danger being safely passed, Dewey, ever 
thoughtful of his crew, allowed the men to lay 
down between the guns to get such rest as was 
possible, in readiness for the important work 
before them. 

At daybreak the ships were off the city of 
Manila, which was about four miles distant, and 
at 5.15 a.m. three batteries in or near the city 
began firing at them at too long range for effect. 
Steaming slowly onward, the Olymp'ut leading, 
the little column of ships took a course about 
parallel to the Spanish line of battle abreast 
of Cavite when Dewey gave the word, " You may 
fire when you are ready, Gridley," and at 5.15 
a.m. the battle began, the signal " Fire as con- 
venient " flying from the yard-arm. 

As the two eight-inch rifles in the Olympia's 
forward turret were discharged the forward 
guns of the other ships were fired, and the fleet 
stood down for the centre of the Spanish line, 






Dewey in Manila Bay 341 

the enemy meanwhile keeping up a most rapid 
fire. One large shell burst less than one hun- 
dred feet ahead of the flagship, a fragment cut- 
ting her rigging directly over the head of Dewey 
and his flag-lieutenant on the bridge. Almost 
at the same moment another shot passed under 
the bridge and cut a piece out of the deck. Still 
the Olympia stood down for the enemy, and 
when assured that he was within proper range, 
the Commodore signalled the fleet " Open with 
all the guns," and then pandemonium reigned 
indeed. 

Keeping up a continual fire, the squadron 
steamed past the anchored enemy in stately pro- 
cession, at a range of a mile and a half, until 
reaching the Cavite forts, when, slowly turning, 
they repassed the Spaniards, pouring in a deadly 
fire from their starboard batteries. Early in 
the engagement two torpedo launches came out 
toward the Olympia, but one of these was speed- 
ily sunk and the other disabled by the secondary 
battery of the flagship. At 7 a.m. as the ships 
were coming down the Spanish line for the third 
time, Dewey signalled the fleet to prepare to 
anchor, but his plans were changed by an un- 
expected move on the part of the Spanish Ad- 
miral, who at that moment slipped the cables of 
the Reina Cristina, and steamed rapidly toward 
the Olympia, with the evident intention of com- 
ing to close quarters. She had only fairly got 
under weigh, however, when the Olympia con- 



342 The American Navy 

centrated a fire upon her that was unendurable. 
One shell struck the bridge where Montojo was 
standing, but he escaped with a slight wound. 
Another eight-inch shell exploded on the fore- 
castle, putting four guns out of action. Her 
steering-gear was soon shot away, her sides were 
riddled, most of her gnus were disabled, and 
her motive-power was quickly crippled. As she 
turned to run inshore her stem was presented 
to the Olympia and a two-hundred-and-fifty- 
pound eight-inch shell struck it fairly, tearing 
its way through everything until it exploded 
near one of the boilers, ripping up the pro- 
tective deck, killing and wounding sixty men, 
the captain of the flagship being among the 
killed. 

Admiral Montojo, finding his ship on fire and 
sinking, her sides crushed in, and her deck a 
shambles, left the Reina Cristina, lowering a boat 
in the midst of the battle, and rowed to the 
Isla de Cuba, where he hoisted his flag. After 
steaming to the east the American ships again 
turned and passed the enemy a fourth time, pour- 
ing in their combined fire until the Castillo was 
in flames, as well as the Reina Cristina. Five 
times our ships had thus passed the Span- 
ish line, each time the number of their enemy 
decreasing, until, it having been erroneously 
reported to the Commodore that only fifteen 
rounds per gun remained for the five-inch rapid- 
fire battery, Dewey turned to the executive 






Dewey in Manila Bay 343 

officer, Lieutenant Rees, and inquired, " What 
time is it, Rees? " 

" Seven forty-five, sir." 

" Breakfast-time," responded the Commodore ; 
"run up the signal, ' Cease firing and follow me.' " 
And Dewey, recognizing that the men had been 
working for two hours with tense nerves at the 
guns, in the magazines, and in the stoke-holes, 
determined to give them a short respite for a 
breathing spell. 

As the signal was broken out, the Olympia led 
the way beyond the range of the enemy's guns 
and, as the men came up from below and saw 
for the first time the burning Spanish wrecks 
astern, the boatswain's whistles sounded the wel- 
come call to breakfast. It was then that the 
telegram from Manila was sent to Madrid: 

Our fleet engaged the enemy in a brilliant com- 
bat, protected by the Cavite and Manila forts. They 
obliged the enemy with heavy loss to manoeuvre 
repeatedly. 

It is strange how history repeats itself, but 
Dewey, in this instance, repeated the " manoeu- 
vre " of his old master Farragut at the passing 
of the forts below New Orleans, and again at 
Mobile Bay, in withdrawing his squadron for 
consultation, redistribution of ammunition, if 
necessary, and, incidentally, for a very welcome 
breakfast, before closing up at the moment the 
business in hand. 



344 The American Navy 

For three grateful hours the men lay, 
stretched out on deck, in the shade, enjoying 
their respite and then Dewey ordered the Bal- 
timore in to reopen the fight. By 11.16 o'clock 
her guns were heard and then the other ships 
followed, this time to an attack upon the forts. 
The little Petrel, with four six-inch guns, being 
of light draft, steamed close in to the Spanish 
vessels and ship after ship was soon in flames 
by her close range fire. Meanwhile the heavier 
ships for an hour and a half were pouring in 
a well-directed fire upon the forts, until at last 
the Spanish flag came down, a white flag was 
displayed, and the day was won ! 

The Spanish loss in vessels sunk was, Reina 
Cristina, Castillo, Don Antonio de Ulloa; burned, 
Don Juan de Austria, Isla de Luzon, Isla de 
Cuba, General Lezo, Marquis del Duero, El 
Correo, Yelasco, Isla de Mindanao; captured, 
Rapido and Hercules tugs, and several small 
launches. Admiral Montojo reported his loss as 
seventy-eight killed on board, and twenty-three 
on shore, a total of one hundred and one, while 
two hundred and eighty were wounded. On our 
side eight men were slightly wounded, while our 
ships were practically uninjured and could have 
gone into battle, if necessary, the next day 
without any repairs. 

The glorious news of this complete and bril- 
liant victory, by which the entire Spanish fleet 
in the East had been destroyed at a single blow, 



Dewey in Manila Bay 345 

was received at home with the wildest enthusiasm 
and the whole country rang with Dewey's name. 
By a joint resolution passed May 9, 1898, by a 
standing vote in Congress, the thanks of the 
American people were tendered to Commodore 
Dewey, he was promoted to Rear Admiral, and 
|10,000 was appropriated for the purchase of 
a jewelled sword of honor for him, while his 
native State ordered a statue of the hero to 
be placed in the State House at Montpelier, 
Vermont. 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE RACE OF THE " OREGON " AROUND CArE HORN 

NOTHING more romantic occurred in the 
brief history of the Spanish War than the 
superb dash of fifteen thousand miles around 
Cape Horn, made by Captain Charles E. Clark in 
the ironclad Oregon, to bring his formidable ship 
from San Francisco to Santiago in time and in 
condition to contend with Cervera's fleet. I>y 
a most happy chance also it was the Oregon $ 
tliirteen-inch shell that, at the last, induced the 
commander of the Cristobal Colon to turn in- 
shore, after a chase of forty-eight miles from 
Santiago, and beach his vessel, the last survivor 
of Cervera's ill-fated fleet. 

An officer of the Colon said, after the battle : 

The projectiles of the Oregon began reaching us 
at 1 p.m. and that, together with the fact that it 
was impossible to fight with the after guns on ac- 
count of the Colon's lack of large calibre pieces, 
and the certainty of being overhauled by the whole 
American fleet in a few hours, left us no other 
remedy than to run our ship ashore in order to 
avoid useless sacrifice of life. 

On March 12, 1898, the Secretary of the Navy 

346 



The Race of the " Oregon " 347 

telegraphed Captain McCormick, of the Oregon, 
at Tacoma, Washington: 

When in all respects ready for sea, proceed to 
Callao and await further orders. In view of the 
present critical condition of affairs, the Oregon 
should leave San Francisco at the earliest possible 
date and arrive at Callao as soon as practicable. 

Captain McCormick having become incapaci- 
tated for duty by ill-health, Captain Charles 
Edgar Clark was detached from the Monterey, 
and assumed command of the Oregon, March 
17th, and sailed from San Francisco on his long 
and perilous voyage March 19th. The Navy 
Department issued orders on March 22d to the 
Marietta, then at San Jose de Guatemala, to 
precede the Oregon, in order to make advance 
arrangements for coal, and to facilitate in every 
way the passage of this battle-ship, so sorely 
needed to reinforce the fleet in Cuban waters. 

The Oregon had a good run down the coast 
and arrived at Callao April 4th, having made 
an average speed of 10.7 knots. Captain Clark 
remained only eighty hours in port, taking, in 
that time, eleven hundred tons of coal, which 
Commander Symonds had ready in lighters in 
advance of the Oregon's arrival. The Marietta 
left Callao on March 31st for Valparaiso, where 
she had been ordered to make similar advance 
arrangements. When Captain Clark left Callao, 
he had one boiler still under repair. Before 



348 The American Navy 

sailing he telegraphed Secretary Long that if 
coal could be provided for him at Sandy Point, 
Patagonia, he could make Bahia without stop- 
ping at Valparaiso on the Pacific side, or at 
Montevideo on the South Atlantic coast. In 
accordance with this request, Long telegraphed 
the Marietta at Valparaiso to go ahead to Sandy 
Point and secure six hundred tons of coal, if 
possible, and from that point to accompany the 
Oregon to the North Atlantic. 

The Oregon had comparatively good weather 
after leaving Callao, although the heavy Pacific 
swell, increased by fresh southerly winds, made 
the ship pitch heavily, the jack-staff at times 
disappearing under the solid seas that swept 
over everything but the superstructure deck; 
but Captain Clark felt that the condition of 
affairs at home warranted him in driving the 
noble ship at a high rate of speed. 

He entered the Straits of Magellan the after- 
noon of April 16th, in a terrific storm, with rain 
so dense that the shores could not be seen and 
no soundings could be obtained. For a time the 
ship was really in great danger, but just before 
dark, in a brief lull, the anchors were let go in 
thirty-eight to fifty-two fathoms of water, on a 
rocky shelf, fringed by islets and reefs, and they 
fortunately held through what Captain Clark 
reported were " some of the most violent gusts 
I have ever experienced." Before morning, how- 
ever, the gale moderated, and, getting under 



The Race of the " Oregon" 349 

way, the Oregon anchored off Sandy Point on 
April 17th, the total run from Callao having 
been made at the rate of eleven and three 
quarter knots an hour. 

To his great annoyance, Captain Clark found 
that the hulk at Sandy Point from which the 
coal contracted for by Commander Symonds 
was to be furnished was loaded above the coal 
with wool, and the crews of the Oregon and 
Marietta were engaged three precious days in 
the tedious work of transferring the wool and 
taking in the coal. During this time, the crew, 
who were working by watches, bravely declined 
to take their hammocks from the nettings, catch- 
ing a few hours' sleep on deck between shifts, to 
expedite the coaling. On the twenty-first the 
two ships sailed, but Clark found that the 
Marietta's low rate of speed delayed him, and 
it was not until the afternoon of the 30th of 
April that they reached Rio de Janeiro. 

Captain Clark had been warned that the 
Spanish torpedo-boat Temerarlo was at Monte- 
video, and that her commander knew the Oregon 
was on her way north. In consequence, during 
the run from Cape Horn, the lights on the 
American vessels were carefully screened at 
night and the battery was kept in constant readi- 
ness, four guns' crews in each watch being sta- 
tioned at the guns. The men exhibited the most 
admirable spirit during this period of the voy- 
age; the engineer officers voluntarily doubled 



350 The American Navy 

their watches when high speed was made, and 
some of the firemen remained at their posts until 
they were actually carried out of the fire-room 
insensible. 

At Rio de Janeiro Captain Clark received offi- 
cial notice that war had been declared between 
Spain and the United States on April 21st, that 
the Temerario had left Montevideo for Rio de 
Janeiro, and also the more stirring news that 
Cervera's fleet of four armored cruisers, " heavy 
and fast," with three torpedo destroyers, had 
sailed April 29th from Cape Verde to the west, 
" destination unknown." The Secretary tele- 
graphed : 

Must be left to your discretion entirely to avoid 
this fleet and to reach the United States by the 
West Indies: You can go when and where you 
desire. The Nictheroy [the purchased Brazilian 
cruiser] and the Marietta subject to the orders of 
yourself. 

The next day, May 1st, came a cable, " Do not 
sail from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, till further 
orders. Long." This was followed on the 2d 
of May by a conflicting despatch : " My tele- 
gram of May 2d countermanded. Carry out 
former instructions, contained in my telegram 
of May 1st, to proceed with Oregon, Marietta, 
and Nictheroy." 

On May 3d another telegram reached Captain 
Clark that stirred the blood of the officers and 



The Race of the " Oregon " 351 

men of his little fleet to fever heat when its 
glorious news was made known, and consoled 
them for all the toil and danger of their past 
month's voyage. It read: 

Inform the Department of your plans. The 
Spanish fleet in Philippine Islands annihilated by 
our naval force on the Asiatic station. Long. 

Clark at once cabled the Department that, in 
view of the possibility of encountering Cervera's 
fleet, he should keep off the Brazilian coast and 
would make all haste for the United States, 
coaling at sea from the Nictheroy if necessary. 

Meanwhile, as there was the chance of the 
Temerario coming into Rio, Captain Clark sent 
an officer to the Brazilian Admiral, explaining 
to him that the Oregon, a $5,000,000 battle-ship, 
might be disabled or even destroyed by the tor- 
pedo vessel of the nation that had blown up the 
Maine, and that Captain Clark relied upon the 
Brazilian naval forces present to prevent any 
such act of hostility. But, Captain Clark added, 
" if the Temerario enters the harbor and ap- 
proaches the Oregon with a hostile purpose, I 
must destroy her ! " 

The American Minister having arrived during 
the afternoon and the situation being explained 
to him, he immediately communicated with the 
Brazilian government, and Captain Clark got 
under way with the Oregon and went farther 
up the bay, leaving orders with the Marietta to 



35 2 The American Navy 

send her steam launch to the Temerario if she 
appeared, to inform her commander that if she 
approached within half a mile of the Oregon 
she would be immediately sunk. The Brazilian 
government was exceedingly courteous in this 
matter and stationed a cruiser at the entrance 
of the harbor with orders to stop the torpedo- 
boat, or if she were permitted to enter, to con- 
voy her to an anchorage well up the bay. During 
the stay of the Oregon, this cruiser and the fort 
at Santa Cruz swept the entrance to the bay 
with their search-lights every night, and the 
Brazilian officers showed by their acts that 
their expressions of sympathy and hopes for 
the success of the Oregon on her voyage were 
genuine. 

On the morning of May 4th, the Nictheroy 
being ready, the Oregon, with that cruiser and the 
Marietta in company, sailed from Rio de Janeiro, 
but, finding that his progress was much delayed 
by the inferior speed of these ships, Captain 
Clark touched at Bahia, Brazil, on the 8th of 
May, and telegraphed the Navy Department to 
that effect, informing the Secretary " that he had 
left them near Cape Frio with orders to their 
commanding officers to go home as best they 
could, or, if necessary to avoid capture, to beach 
their vessels." Captain Clark added, to reassure 
the Department as to his own safety and his 
opinion of his chances against Cervera's fleet if 
he should encounter them: 



The Race of the " Oregon " 353 

The Oregon can steam fourteen knots an hour 
for hours and in a running fight might beat off 
and even cripple the Spanish fleet. With the pre- 
sent amount of coal on board will be in good fight- 
ing trim, and could reach the West Indies. If more 
should be taken here I could reach Key West, but 
in that case, belt armor, cellulose belt, and protec- 
tive deck should be below water-line. Whereabouts 
of Spanish fleet requested. 

Secretary Long immediately responded : 

Proceed at once to West Indies without further 
stop in Brazil. No authentic news of Spanish fleet. 
Avoid if possible. We believe that you will defeat 
it if met. 

The Naval War Board at Washington fully 
discussed the advisability of despatching assist- 
ance to the Oregon in view of the possibility of 
her being waylaid by Cervera's squadron, that 
had been last heard of at the Cape Verde 
Islands. It was wisely decided, however, that, 
under existing conditions, such a course was 
inadvisable and that it would be better to leave 
Captain Clark to pursue his own course, an 
eminently wise decision, as it proved. 

The Oregon sailed from Bahia on the evening 
of the 9th of May, and, without further trouble, 
anchored off Bridgetown, Barbadoes, May 18th, 
at 3.20 A.M V having made an average of 11.73 
knots during her last run. As she had come 
from Brazil, the ship was quarantined and the 



354 The American Navy 

Governor of the island sent Captain Clark a po- 
lite letter enclosing a copy of the Queen's pro- 
clamation of neutrality dated April 23d. 

Having taken in four hundred tons of coal, 
the Oregon sailed from Barbadoes; and on May 
24, 1898, anchored off Jupiter Inlet, Florida, 
and, after communicating with the Department, 
was ordered to Key West, where she arrived 
May 26th. The Secretary of the Navy tele- 
graphed Captain Clark and his officers and crew 
the congratulations of the President and the De- 
partment upon their safe arrival and " the com- 
pletion of your long and remarkably successful 
voyage." To this Captain Clark responded, on 
May 29th: 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the De- 
partment's telegram of yesterday, which was re- 
ceived and read to all hands at muster the same 
evening, causing great enthusiasm and spontaneous 
cheers. That the officers who have labored so faith- 
fully and intelligently to bring the ship around in 
an efficient condition for fighting and steaming, and 
especially that the crew, who individually and col- 
lectively have made all sacrifices and who for two 
weeks have asked for nothing but the privilege of 
doing extra work that might hasten the progress 
of the ship, should be mentioned and congratulated, 
affords me, as the commanding officer, especial 
gratification. 

At 11 p.m., on May 30th, Sampson, in the New 
York, with the Oregon, Mayflower, and Porter, 



The Race of the " Oregon " 355 

left Key West for Santiago. At 6.55 a.m v on 
the 31st, he spoke Commodore Watson's flagship, 
the Montgomery, and, leaving him in command 
at Key West, he made signal to the other three 
ships to form column on the New York, and 
stood to the eastward at a speed of thirteen 
knots. On June 1st, Rear Admiral Sampson 
arrived off Santiago in the New York, with the 
Mayflower, Porter, and the Oregon; and on the 
2d the vessels of the fleet were arranged off 
the entrance to the port in a semicircle, the 
radius of the arc from the Morro being six miles 
by day and three to four miles at night. The 
Oregon's place in this circle was fifth from the 
eastern side, between the New York on the star- 
board hand and the Iowa on the port side. 

The Oregon's important share in the work of 
Sampson's fleet in destroying Cervera's formid- 
able vessels is told in another chapter. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

HOBSON SINKS THE " MERRIMAC " IN SANTIAGO 
HARBOR 

AFTER it was satisfactorily decided that 
Admiral Cervera had taken his hitherto 
elusive fleet into the harbor of Santiago, Ad- 
miral Sampson, feeling that it would be very 
good policy to keep them there, out of harm's 
way, decided to prevent the possibility of the 
escape of the Spanish ships from the harbor, 
under cover of a blustering night, by obstruct- 
ing the channel. Captain Converse, of the 
Montgomery, suggested taking the steam collier 
Merrimac, already at Santiago, for that purpose, 
and the suggestion meeting Sampson's approval, 
steps were at once taken for putting the scheme 
into execution. 

The Admiral's plan was to run the Merrimac 
in on the flood tide at early daylight, under her 
own steam, and run her ashore just inside Morro 
Castle, at the narrowest part of the channel, 
using her port helm so that the flood-tide would 
swing her stern up-stream and across the 
channel, where it was assumed she would ground 
and rest. Then, by opening all the sea-valves 
the collier would sink, and it was expected that 
the channel would be completely obstructed. 

356 



Hobson Sinks the "Merrimac" 357 

Sampson sent for Mr. Hobson, assistant naval 
constructor, who had been with him on the New 
York, and asked his opinion as to the best 
method of causing the Merrimac to sink. Mr. 
Hobson said that, in his opinion, the opening 
of the sea-valves would not cause the ship to 
sink quickly enough. After considerable pon- 
dering over the plans he left the cabin, with 
the understanding that he would consider other 
plans, and on May 30th he brought the Admiral 
a perfected and detailed scheme, involving the 
use of ten torpedoes. Sampson says: 

He had thought out every detail, even to the 
smallest point. It was at this time that Hobson 
requested the privilege of commanding the expedi- 
tion. ... I was greatly impressed with the faith 
and the absolute fearlessness which Mr. Hobson dis- 
played. Not in the least particular did he show a 
particle of doubt of success. He had developed the 
whole plan to such a degree that no one had, or 
probably could have had, the matter so completely 
in mind. For this reason alone, prudence demanded 
that he should be intrusted with the principal 
command. 

As soon as that point had been decided, pre- 
parations went on apace, torpedoes, fuses, etc., 
were completed, and volunteers were called for 
to man the collier. To this call the response was 
immediate and most gratifying, as seven hundred 
men at once offered their services for the pla- 
ces of the seven required, and the crews of the 



35 8 The American Navy 

different ships pressed upon Mr. Hobson, using 
all kinds of arguments to persuade him to take 
them. It was as though a great favor was be- 
ing asked and every means must be taken to 
have it granted. It was finally arranged, how- 
ever, that the executive officer of the New 
York should send word to the men to be 
selected. 

After very arduous work in stripping the 
Merrimac of all unnecessary gear and fitting the 
torpedoes intended to aid in sinking the vessel, 
on the early morning of June 3d the Merrimac, 
with her crew of seven brave men and one young 
officer in command, started under a slow head 
of steam on her daring enterprise. The moon 
was about an hour and a half high and, steer- 
ing for the Morro, the vessel was running 
straight down the reflected path of light. To 
clear this they stood to the eastward of the 
course and crept along obliquely, at about four 
knots speed. As they stood on, the outlines of 
Morro and other shore objects became clearer 
and clearer. The blockading vessels were now 
miles astern and when the Merrimac arrived at 
a distance of about two thousand yards there 
could be no further question of surprise, so the 
order was given " Full speed, ahead ! " " Steady 
a-starboard ! " 

The Merrimac at once responded as if ani- 
mated, and foam began to fly under her bows, 
as she stood down toward the entrance. The 



Hobson Sinks the "Merrimac" 359 

men were now directed to put on their revolver 
belts and life belts. As the ship forged ahead 
the excitement and anxiety of the little crew 
became intense, and as they drove down the ex- 
act course, Estrella opened up and then the 
Morro drew higher in the sky and the western 
side of the entrance, though dim as expected, 
showed in the moonlight the bald spot of the sea 
battery on top. 

The Merrimac was now within five hundred 
yards of the enemy, making nine knots, and, 
almost at her goal, was as yet apparently un- 
discovered. Another ship's length was covered 
and then a flash darted out from the water's 
edge at the left side of the entrance. But no 
crash followed. The projectile must have passed 
astern! Another flash — another miss. Then 
the night glasses showed to the anxious crew 
a picket boat, with rapid-fire guns, lying in the 
shadow. She was evidently making play for 
their exposed rudder. 

Suddenly there was a crash from the port 
side. " The western battery has opened on us, 
sir ! " called Charette from the bridge to his 
commander. Hobson now estimated his dis- 
tance from Morro Point at about three ship's 
lengths, or but one ship's length from the point 
at which it had been decided he should stop his 
ship. At that moment a huge projectile passed 
across the bridge and struck something. The 
order was telegraphed to the engine-room 



360 The American Navy 

" Stop," and the answer pointer indicated that 
the order was received. 

As the ship slowed down a swell seemed to 
set her stern to port and her bow swung heavily 
toward Morro, coming within thirty feet of the 
rock, before the Merrimac recovered from the 
sheer. 

" Hard a-port," shouted Hobson. No response 
of the ship. " Hard a-port I say," he repeated. 

" The helm is hard a-port, sir, and lashed," 
was the response. The steering gear had evi- 
dently been shot away at the last moment, and 
the ship was still charging forward straight 
down the channel! 

The anchors were at once let go, and the tor- 
pedoes for sinking the ship were exploded. 
Meanwhile the rapid-fire and machine-gun bat- 
teries on shore had all opened up at full blast 
and projectiles were exploding and clanging, 
making a very pandemonium. The sinking ship 
was just in front of Estrella, lying about two 
thirds athwart the channel, the bow to the 
westward. Hobson and his crew had gathered 
on the lower deck, where they were screened from 
the incessant musketry fire from the troops in 
the adjacent batteries, and the enemy's shells 
were meanwhile cutting up the upper works of 
the Merrimac. All firing was at point-blank 
range, at a target that could not be missed, the 
Socapa batteries with plunging fire, the bat- 
teries of the Spanish fleet with horizontal fire, 



Hobson Sinks the " Merrimac" 361 

the striking projectiles and flying fragments 
producing a grinding sound, with a fine ring in 
it of steel on steel. 

The Merrimac now gave a premonitory lurch, 
then settled to port, and the firing suddenly 
ceased. The vessel lowered her head, like a 
faithful animal proudly aware of its sacrifice, 
bowed below the surface, and plunged forward. 
The stern rose and heeled heavily, stood still 
for a moment, then started downward, the ship 
righting as she went under water. 

As she sunk the catamaran that had been 
thoughtfully provided for such a contingency 
floated near the men in the water and they all 
assembled about it, clinging to its sides for sup- 
port. Hobson directed his men not to speak 
a word, but to cling to the catamaran and await 
developments. In this condition they remained, 
the air very chilly and the water positively cold, 
and in spite of their best efforts two of the men 
began to cough, yet they remained there with- 
out a murmur fully an hour. As dawn broke, 
a beautiful bugle strain went up from Punta 
Gorda battery; broad daylight then came, 
and a steam launch was seen approaching the 
floating men. When it was about thirty yards 
off, Lieutenant Hobson hailed. The launch 
stopped and backed and a squad of riflemen 
appeared from beneath the awning with guns 
ready. 

Hobson called out again, to ask if there was 



362 The American Navy 

an officer in the boat, as, if so, an American 
officer wished to speak with him with a view 
to surrendering himself and seamen as prisoners 
of war. 

The stern curtain was raised, an elderly 
officer leaned out and waved his hand, and the 
rifles came down. Hobson struck out for the 
launch and climbed on board aft with the as- 
sistance of the officer, who, hours afterward, he 
learned was Admiral Cervera. 

Then the launch steamed down to the cata- 
maran and the seven men climbed on board, 
two of them in the last stages of exhaustion 
and requiring to be lifted in from the water, 
and the whole party were prisoners in Spanish 
hands. 

The Americans were taken on board the 
cruiser Reina Mercedes where they were treated 
with the utmost consideration by their captors, 
who at first supposed them to be the sole sur- 
vivors of an American vessel-of-war that had 
been sunk by the Spanish batteries and the fleet 
in endeavoring to force her way into the harbor. 
A little later Hobson was given facilities for 
sending out to Admiral Sampson a brief note 
informing him that the Merrimac was sunk and 
that he and his men were being kindly treated as 
prisoners of war. This communication after be- 
ing carefully scrutinized was sent out to the 
fleet under a flag of truce by Admiral Cervera; 
and articles of clothing and a small sum of 



Hobson Sinks the "Merrimac" 363 

money for the prisoners was brought back from 
the New York by the same boat. 

The next day, by order of Genera] Linares, 
the prisoners were removed to the Morro Castle, 
where, through the influence of Mr. Ramsden, 
the British Consul, their cells were made more 
habitable than they were at first, and through 
the kindly offices of the Spanish naval officers 
many little luxuries were introduced for Lieu- 
tenant Hobson's comfort. Indeed, throughout 
the term of the imprisonment of the Americans 
the generous conduct of the Spanish naval 
officers was in very marked contrast to that of 
the army officers. 

After the preliminary arrangements for their 
confinement had been made, Charette, one of 
Hobson's men, was permitted to visit his com- 
mander. He referred to the situation they had 
passed through together and said : " Every man 
would do it again to-night, sir." Lieutenant 
Hobson says that throughout the whole term of 
their imprisonment the men showed the most 
remarkable spirit of cheerfulness, and although 
they did not have the support of kind words and 
courteous visits, as he had, yet never did they 
exhibit signs of anxiety or fear. The Spanish 
soldiers at first taunted them, as they would 
Cuban prisoners, called them desperadoes, ac- 
cused them of fighting for money, making signs of 
dealing out coin, and passed their fingers across 
their throats and shook their heads to indicate 



364 The American Navy 

the fate that awaited them. The Americans, 
however, only smiled at such taunts and actually 
laughed at the gruesome mockings. 

On the 6th of June the Morro, where Hobson 
and his men were confined, and the harbor of 
Santiago were subjected to a general bombard- 
ment from the fleet, which lasted all that day. 
The castle was struck many times, and twice 
at a point immediately over Hobson's cell, and, 
as a result, the prisoners were removed the next 
day to Santiago, by order of General Linares. 
This was a most agreeable change for the Ameri- 
cans, as they were now confined in the Cuartel 
Reina Mercedes, on the eastern edge of the city, 
beside the large military hospital, where the 
lieutenant's quarters were in marked contrast 
to the barrenness of his cell in the Morro. He 
was also visited here by Consul Ramsden who 
brought him the news of the death of Captain 
Acosta of the Reina Mercedes, who was mortally 
wounded with five others in the late bombard- 
ment by our fleet. Hobson felt this very sorely, 
for Acosta had treated him with the greatest 
consideration when he was first brought as a 
prisoner on board the Mercedes by Admiral 
Cervera. The lieutenant w r as also made very 
happy, the first day of his confinement in his 
new quarters, by a cablegram sent from Brook- 
lyn in care of Admiral Cervera, bringing a mes- 
sage of kindness from the Southern Society of 
Brooklyn, which made him feel that he was not 



Hobson Sinks the " Merrimac " 3 6 5 

forgotten by friends at home. Mr. Hobson was 
here served, for the first time since his captivity, 
with a course dinner in prison, served by a 
soldier acting as butler. " There were seldom 
fewer than three courses at dinner," he says 
jocosely : 

frijoles, rice, and beef, sometimes sardines; then, 
for a long time, a bit of the guava jelly, left in my 
cell by a kind Sister of Charity from the hospital; 
and for a while fruit, which the British consul 
sent. When the courses were through, the soldier 
cleared the table and served a small cup of hot, 
black coffee. 

But it was not by any means all cakes and ale 
for the prisoners during the next thirty days that 
elapsed before their final exchange. Sickness, 
the natural consequence of close confinement in 
a tropical climate, broke out among his men, and 
it was with great difficulty that Hobson, through 
the intervention of the British Consul, at last 
obtained permission to have his men removed 
from their close cell to the hospital for treat- 
ment. By assiduous attention to diet and by 
incessant physical exercise within his cell, Hob- 
son managed to retain his own health and on 
July 7th, when he and his men were at last 
permitted to pass through to General Shatter's 
lines, he rode a horse with perfect ease. Then 
he learned for the first time of the destruction 
of Cervera's fleet two days before. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA'S FLEET AT SANTIAGO 

WHILE Dewey was annihilating the naval 
power of Spain in the East, Admiral 
Cervera, with a much more powerful squadron 
of modern ships than Montojo had at Manila, 
left the Cape Verde Islands on April 29th, 
and was leisurely making his way toward the 
island of Cuba. His squadron consisted of the 
armored flagship Infanta M aria Teresa, the Yiz- 
caya, and the Almirante Oquendo, each of seven 
thousand tons, armed with two eleven-inch guns, 
ten 5.5-inch, and the usual secondary battery; 
the slightly armored cruiser Cristobal Colon, and 
the torpedo-boat destroyers Furor, Pluton, and 
Terror. The destroyers had a record of thirty 
knots and the armored cruisers of twenty knots 
speed. 

The appearance of such a formidable squad- 
ron in the vicinity of our coast caused the 
greatest uneasiness, more particularly from the 
fact that its destination was kept a close secret 
and it was not known where it might strike. 
It was a tremendous relief, therefore, when it 
became definitely known that the " disappearing 

squadron," as it was popularly called, was at 

366 



Destruction of Cervera's Fleet 367 

last safely located in Santiago harbor and that 
Admiral Sampson's powerful squadron was keep- 
ing the Spanish ships closely blockaded. 

On Sunday, July 3, 1898, while the morning 
mist was still hanging about the Cuban hills 
the battleship Massachusetts and the Suwanee 
left their station at four o'clock for Guanta- 
nanio, where they were to coal. At 8.50 the 
flagship New York made the signal " Disregard 
movements of Commander-in-chief " and, in 
company with the Ericsson, swung out of line 
and steamed toward Siboney, where Admiral 
Sampson was to meet General Shafter, at his 
request, for a conference. 

At 9.31, while making ready for church serv- 
ice on board the ships, a gun from the Iowa 
startled the fleet and attracted immediate at- 
tention to her signal, " Enemy's ships coming 
out ! " Although the Iowa, having trouble with 
her boilers, had only steam enough to move her 
about five knots, Captain Evans, in obedience 
to Sampson's general order, headed his ship at 
once for the Infanta Maria Teresa, the leading 
Spanish ship, and by 9.40, at a range of six 
thousand yards, he fired the first gun at the 
enemy. 

The Spanish vessels, bright in their fresh paint 
and brilliant with battle flags, came out of the 
harbor at a speed of from eight to ten knots, 
a beautiful sight, in the following order, and 
at a distance of about eight hundred yards 



368 The American Navy 

apart: Infanta Maria Teresa, flagship; Viz- 
cay a, Cristobal Colon, and the Almirante 
Oquendo. Following, at a distance of about 
twelve hundred yards, came the torpedo-boat de- 
stroyers Pluton and Furor. The Spanish flagship 
at once responded to the loiva's gun with a full 
broadside delivered at the Indiana and the battle 
began in earnest as the Spanish ships fled to 
the westward, pursued by our fleet. The de- 
stroyers were the first to meet their fate; they 
had two full miles of open water to cross before 
they could reach any of our ships and meanwhile 
the smaller guns of the Indiana, the Oregon, and 
the Texas were playing havoc with them, as they 
cleared Socapa Point. Commander Wainwright, 
in the little Gloucester, also steamed boldly for 
them and at close range his six-pounders speed- 
ily finished their career; the Furor, crippled, 
turned and ran for the beach, while the Pluton 
was literally cut in two by a large shell which 
struck her amidships, and she sank at once in 
deep water. 

Meanwhile the chase of the larger Spanish 
ships was going on and the Maria Teresa was 
being literally cut to pieces by the concentrated 
fire of the fleet. An eight-inch shell struck the 
shield of one of her 5.5-inch guns, passed 
through it, and ranged aft, where it exploded. 
Another entered the ship just under the after 
barbette, ranging aft, and exploded on the gun- 
deck with such effect that all the men in that 






Destruction of Cervera's Fleet 369 

locality must have been either killed or wounded, 
while the upper deck beams were ripped and 
torn, the bulkheads shattered, and the fire-main 
cut. Two twelve-inch shells also entered below 
the berth deck, exploding and completely wreck- 
ing the after-torpedo compartment. In addition 
to the terrific devastation effected by the large 
projectiles there was a perfect rain of four-, five-, 
and six-inch shells, that burst in every direction, 
setting fire to the woodwork of the ship and 
driving the men from their guns. 

Admiral Cervera stood on the bridge in the 
midst of this storm of shot and shell and sev- 
eral men were killed or wounded about him. 
" It was like hell," said one of the Spanish 
officers, after the battle. " Shells were bursting 
around us on all sides." Captain Concas was 
wounded, the second in command could not be 
found, the fire aft in the Admiral's cabin was 
developing so fast that Cervera gave orders for 
the after magazine to be flooded, but the smoke 
was so thick below that the valves could not 
be reached and nothing was done. Fearing a 
great explosion the Admiral decided that further 
resistance was absolutely hopeless and at 10 a.m. 
he headed his flagship for the beach, aflame from 
bow to stern, where the survivors were rescued 
by the Gloucester's boats, Cervera surrendering 
to Commander Wainwright. 

The turn of the Oquendo came next; every 
gun that would bear from four of our ships was 



37° The American Navy 

concentrated upon her until she also, at 10.30 
A.M., turned in the wake of the flagship and 
flaming from every port drove upon the beach, 
where, striking at full speed, her stern settled 
down and with a crash she broke in two amid- 
ships, but a half mile west of the Maria Teresa. 
The Yizcaya sustained the race with the squad- 
ron for fifteen miles farther before she finally 
met her fate at the hands of the Oregon and 
the Brooklyn. It was 11.15 o'clock before Cap- 
tain Eulate, unable longer to sustain the storm 
of shot and shell that poured upon his devoted 
ship, turned her head to the beach and ran his 
ship ashore at Asseraderos. Captain Eulate 
was taken on board the Iowa, severely wounded 
in the head. He tendered his sword to Captain 
Evans, who, amidst the cheers of the crew, cour- 
teously refused to accept it. Lieutenant Luis 
Fajado y Pinzon of the Yizcaya climbed up the 
Ioica's side with some slight assistance, stood 
at attention and saluted, while his left arm hung 
only by a muscle. None of the wounded Spanish 
officers groaned or murmured. 

The Colon, now the last survivor of the fleet, 
had thus far kept inside of the other Spanish 
ships and had consequently escaped much of the 
murderous fire that had destroyed them. She 
was heading to the west, in the direction of 
Havana, at a great speed, pursued by the Oregon 
and Brooklyn. The Oregon, from being next to 
the easternmost ship when the alarm sounded, 



Destruction of Cervera's Fleet 371 

had passed rapidly ahead of the other battle- 
ships by a remarkable burst of speed, and was 
now almost abreast of the Brooklyn, which posi- 
tion she maintained to the end, using her forced 
draft and exceeding, at times, her contract trial 
speed. It was then that Chief Engineer Milli- 
gan came up from the stoke-hole and begged 
Captain Clark to fire one gun to encourage his 
fainting men below and the Captain accordingly 
ordered one of the thirteen-inch guns fired, al- 
though the shot fell short of the mark. 

The chase continued for two hours, the initial 
speed of seventeen knots of the Colon gradually 
diminishing while that of the pursuers was 
visibly increasing. At ten minutes before 1 p.m. 
the Oregon began firing her forward thirteen- 
inch guns, throwing shells near and over the 
chase and the Brooklyn fired some smaller guns 
soon after. At 1.15 the Colon turned in toward 
the beach, ran ashore near the mouth of the 
Kio Tarquino, fired a gun to leeward, and hauled 
down her flag. Then Commodore Schley, in 
appreciation of her superb work, signalled 
" Oregon, well done." 

The Colon was boarded by Captain Cook of 
the Brooklyn to whom she was surrendered. He 
found her practically uninjured, but her sea- 
valves had been treacherously opened and the 
Colon soon filled and turned over on her star- 
board side, leaving a part of her port quarter 
exposed. The surviving Spaniards of the fleet 



37 2 The American Navy 

were taken from their burning ships and were 
sent to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where they 
remained as prisoners of war, until they were 
exchanged. 

At the battle of Manila Bay it took Dewey 
seven hours, including the three hours taken for 
breakfast, to destroy the Spanish fleet and 
silence the Cavite forts. In the combat at San- 
tiago, from the first appearance of the Maria 
Teresa until the surrender of the Cristobal Colon, 
exactly three hours and forty-four minutes 
elapsed. 

The outcome of this amazing victory was the 
absolute annihilation of Cervera's fleet, with a 
loss to the Spaniards of three hundred and fifty 
killed and drowned; one hundred and fifty-nine, 
including ninety-nine officers, wounded ; and one 
thousand seven hundred and seventy-four made 
prisoners. On our side but one was killed and 
two wounded. The enormous disparity between 
the loss on the American and the Spanish side 
was even greater in this engagement than in 
Dewey's brilliant victory at Manila, 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE CRUISE OF THE BATTLE-SHIP FLEET AROUND 
THE WORLD 

IN the late spring of 1907 the Navy Depart- 
ment decided to send the Atlantic fleet, com- 
posed of sixteen fine battle-ships, and an auxiliary 
flotilla of small vessels, on an extended practice 
cruise to the Pacific coast. It was proposed to 
spend the month of March, 1908, in Magdalen a 
Bay, Mexico, for target practice, and the advance 
programme contemplated a return to the Atlantic 
coast about February 22, 1909. 

After completing their work at the Jamestown 
Exposition and the summer manoeuvres, target 
practice, etc., the vessels of the fleet dispersed 
to the several navy yards for final preparations, 
which, in view of the extended cruise contem- 
plated, were naturally very carefully attended 
to. The week beginning December 9, 1907, the 
fleet assembled at Hampton Roads with Rear 
Admiral Robley D. Evans as commander-in-chief. 

The vessels of what was designated as the 
United States Atlantic Fleet were : First squad- 
ron, Connecticut, flagship of Rear Admiral 
Evans, Kansas, Vermont, Louisiana. Second 
division (Rear Admiral W. H. Emory), Georgia, 

373 



374 The American Navy 

New Jersey, Rhode Island, Virginia. Second 
squadron (Rear Admiral C. M. Thomas), third 
division, Minnesota, Ohio, Missouri, Maine. 
Fourth division (Rear Admiral C. S. Sperry), 
Alabama, Illinois, Kearsarge, Kentucky. Tor- 
pedo flotilla (Lieutenant-Commander H. I. 
Cone), Whipple, Truxton, Lawrence, Hopkins, 
Hull, Stewart. Auxiliaries, Panther (repair 
ship), Culgoa and Glacier, storeships, Ajax (col- 
lier), Arethusa (storeship for flotilla), Yankton 
(tender). 

This list of varied auxiliary vessels shows what 
wise and careful preparation was made in ad- 
vance for any possible contingency that might 
occur on the voyage. They all remained with 
the fleet, practically in their company, until 
the arrival of Admiral Evans at Magdalena 
Bay. 

All the preparations being completed, Presi- 
dent Roosevelt reviewed the assembled fleet at 
Hampton Roads, bade the officers and crews God- 
speed, and on December 16th the ships sailed. 
This, the most powerful collection of war- 
ships ever assembled under the American flag 
was about to undertake the longest cruise — of 
14,000 miles — that any fleet of similar force had 
ever made. There were about fifteen thousand 
officers and men on board the ships and the 
value of the vessels was fully $100,000,000. The 
departure of this fleet excited the liveliest in- 
terest, not only in our own country, but through- 




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The Cruise of the Battle-Ship Fleet 375 

out the civilized world and the records of the 
various stages of the cruise were printed broad- 
cast and read with the deepest interest. 

As the ships passed out by the Capes of the 
Chesapeake after the President's review the 
bands of the different ships played the national 
airs interspersed with the more homely melodies 
" Home, Sweet Home," " The Girl I Left Behind 
Me," and " Auld Lang Syne." The correspond- 
ent of the New York Sun related the following 
characteristic incident of the departure of the 
Louisiana: 

A staff officer of that ship showed the attitude 
of the naval man. He had told his wife and family 
exactly where to go in a remote but conspicuous 
place on the ramparts of old Fort Monroe so that 
he could distinguish them easily with his glass. He 
had told them he would be on the after bridge. 
When the ship came near the station of his family 
he stole far out on the bridge, fixed his glass on 
the family group and waved and waved his hand- 
kerchief. The answer came quickly and the flashes 
seemed to be wigwags, such as a naval officer's wife 
might be expected to know. 

The officer stood it for about two minutes. Then 
he pulled himself together sharply, turned, and 
walked away over to a group of his mates. 

" Did you make out your people, Jones ? " asked 
one of them who had noted what was going on. 

" I believe they were over there somewhere in 
the crowd," was the reply, with an apparently un- 
concerned smile. He had finished with that side of 



37° The American Navy 

his existence. His duty was now to his ship. And 
so the ships passed out to sea. 

Later that day a message was signalled to 
each ship announcing that the President had 
authorized the commander-in-chief to inform the 
officers and men that after a short stay on the 
Pacific coast the fleet would return home by 
way of the Mediterranean. And thus one of 
the puzzles about the final destination of the 
fleet was settled, to the great delight of officers 
and crew. 

On December 23d the fleet arrived at Trini- 
dad, Port of Spain, where they were most cor- 
dially received, Governor-General Jackson being 
an old friend of Admiral Evans. On Christmas 
Day a grand reception was given on board the 
Minnesota to all the officers of the other ships 
and the bluejackets of the fleet had a special 
Christmas dinner of turkey and the usual 
accessories. 

The ships were coaled at Trinidad and the 
crews received shore liberty, which was greatly 
enjoyed. The fleet sailed on the 29th for Rio 
de Janeiro, briefly pausing on the sixth of Janu- 
ary for the visit of Neptune Rex, which was duly 
celebrated when the ships crossed the equator, 
the land-lubbers at that time being initiated 
into the " solemn mysteries of the Ancient Order 
of the Deep." Lieutenant F. T. Evans, the son 
of the commander-in-chief, was one who was 
initiated during this festival. 



The Cruise of the Battle-Ship Fleet 377 

The fleet arrived at Rio de Janeiro on the 12th 
and their reception by the enthusiastic Brazil- 
ians was absolutely overwhelming. During the 
ten days' stay in that beautiful harbor there 
was one incessant round of festivities for officers 
and men, from the time the signal " Welcome 
American fleet " snapped out from Fort Santa 
Cruz at the entrance of the port, until the de- 
parture of the fleet on January 22d. Officers 
and men universally declared Rio to be not only 
the " City of all Delights," but the " City of All 
Hospitality." 

On the evening of January 26th the Argen- 
tine fleet, under command of Admiral Hipolito 
Oliva, came out to sea to meet the American 
ships off Buenos Ayres and give Rear Admiral 
Evans a salute of fifteen guns — a full Admiral's 
salute. The Argentines evidently could not be- 
lieve that such a magnificent fleet could possibly 
have been sent around the world under the com- 
mand of a Rear Admiral. The Connecticut, in 
strict compliance with naval etiquette, responded 
to this salute gun for gun, and the men of the 
foreign vessels broke into loud cheering as our 
ships passed them with their bands playing. 

On February 1st, the fleet arrived at Punta 
Arenas, commonly known as the " jumping-off 
place of the earth," as it is the southernmost 
settlement of any size of civilized people in the 
world. As the ships' launches swung into the 
landing place at this forlorn, dreary, and 



37 8 The American Navy 

desolate place they found an enormous sign 
reading, " Special prices for the American 
fleet." This legend was found to state the exact 
truth, especially as to furs, one of the principal 
articles of barter. Fox-skin rugs that had been 



selling for $23 immediately went up to 
Guanaco skins were elevated from $10 to $13. 
Seal skins underwent a raise from $50 to $75. 
This was an exemplification of hospitality to the 
strangers that was unappreciated by the visitors. 
The ships were coaled here and sailed on the 
7th of February, having stayed one day longer 
than the programme indicated, to respond to the 
courtesy of the Chilean government in sending 
their cruiser the Chacabuco down to Arenas to 
greet the fleet. 

The passage through the dreaded Strait of 
Magellan was comparatively uneventful and 
after passing safely through into the Pacific the 
fleet on February 15th sailed in stately proces- 
sion in and out of the harbor of Valparaiso, 
saluting President Montt as they had saluted 
President Roosevelt at Hampton Roads when 
our vessels left home. On the green hillside was 
observed in letters of white the word " Welcome." 
Upon closer observation it was discovered that 
this was a human sign made by sailors or naval 
cadets dressed in white, who lay for fully an 
hour quietly on the ground. Three men were 
required to make the height of a single letter 
of this unique signal. As our fleet rounded 




ADMIRAL ROBLEY D. EVANS 
(Copyright, 190T, by Enrique Muller) 



The Cruise of the Battle-Ship Fleet 379 

Point Angeles the sixteen American battle-ships 
belched out a salute of twenty-one guns to the 
President of Chili, to which Fort Valdivia re- 
sponded with the same number of guns. The 
same salutes were again exchanged near Fort 
Callao, where President Montt was stationed on 
board the Chacabuco. 

Greetings equally warm-hearted were ex- 
changed with the Peruvians at Callao when the 
fleet arrived at that port on February 20th. 
Here officers and crew had an opportunity of 
visiting Lima, founded by Pizarro in 1535. A 
bull fight was one of the special attractions to 
the visitors at Lima and six bulls of famous 
stock were provided for the " grand gala " for 
the Americans. A trip over the wonderful 
Oroya railroad was also arranged for the officers, 
and in return for the many courtesies Admiral 
Evans gave a dinner to President Pardo on board 
the Connecticut. Then, on the 29th the Ameri- 
can fleet passed out to sea, accompanied by the 
Peruvian cruiser Almirante Grace, with the 
Peruvian President on board, and sailed for 
Magdalena Bay. 

On March 12th, Admiral Evans's fleet arrived 
at Magdalena Bay, Mexico, two days ahead of 
schedule time, to the very great relief of the 
Navy Department, whence the eventful passage 
of the vessels around Cape Horn and up the 
coast of South America had been carefully and 
anxiously watched. Admiral Evans at once 



380 The American Navy 

notified the home authorities that his ships were 
actually in better shape than when they left 
Hampton Roads; their crews were in splendid 
health and in first-class fighting condition and 
were ready for any duty to which they might be 
detailed within an hour's notice. 

The time for the fleet target practice had 
now arrived and for the next month every ship 
was kept at work in good earnest at battle prac- 
tice, or firing at a target that simulated in size 
and distance the ship of an enemy, the range 
having to be found out. " Record " practice was 
also made on certain days to qualify gun pointers 
and to find out the best shooters in each ship. 
Magdalena Bay is considered one of the finest 
places in the world for this practice. It is a 
splendid sheet of water, about fifteen miles long 
and ten wide, with a narrow entrance, good 
water just deep enough for safe manoeuvring, 
and an excellent anchorage. A line of sharp- 
crested hills shuts it in from sight of the Pacific. 
There is only one small hamlet of about twenty 
dwellings on the inside of the bay, so that the 
fleet, cut off from all the world, was perfectly 
secluded for the important w T ork they had in 
hand. 

The exciting business of the cruise now be- 
gan; all the festivities that had preceded it were 
for the time forgotten. Just before the shoot- 
ing began a perceptible calm, a stillness came 
over the ship. Officers and men steady them- 



The Cruise of the Battle-Ship Fleet 381 

selves with a supreme effort to keep cool and 
the spirit to do or die takes possession of the 
ship. The gufls go bang, bang, and boom, boom, 
good cheer pervades every compartment, and it 's 
" That 's fine Bill ! " • " Hit 'em again ! " " Sock 
it to 'em!" "Soak 'er!" "You're doin' 
great ! " " Never mind, that 's only one miss ! " 
" Bully boy ! " And as the riddled target is 
brought on board to be repaired the anxious 
men, full of excitement, crowd around it while 
the umpires examine the rents to make their 
decisions as to the result. The real preparation 
for all this work had begun as soon as the fleet 
left our coast and there had been daily drills 
for hours at Morris tube practice all the time 
at sea during the past four months. 

And so in this most valuable practical work 
the time passed until April 11th, when the fleet 
sailed for California. After brief pauses at San 
Diego, San Pedro, and Santa Barbara, to show 
the vessels to the inhabitants of these sections, 
the fleet reached San Francisco on May 6, 1908, 
after the longest cruise ever made by a fleet of 
battle-ships of any navy. The log recorded in 
round numbers thirteen thousand seven hundred 
and fifty sea miles covered in sixty-one sailing 
days. The government now knows by actual 
experience that in seventy-eight days, without 
undue speeding, a fleet of battle-ships could be 
readily sent from the Chesapeake to San 
Francisco. 



382 The American Navy 

All naval officers agree that professionally the 
cruise was of the very greatest benefit to both 
officers and men. The ships also had been 
shaken down, and had become a coherent force. 
A large quantity of work had been done on 
each vessel such as is usually done in navy 
yards, and many repairs had been made by the 
force on board the accompanying repair ship, at 
no cost to the government. 

One great drawback to the full enjoyment of 
the cruise was the condition of health of Ad- 
miral Evans. His old enemy rheumatism took 
a sharp grip on him and other complications 
followed. At times he was in the most serious 
condition and it was only his indomitable pluck 
that enabled him to support the voyage until the 
ships reached the Golden Gate and to direct all 
their important movements so that when the 
vessels arrived in port Admiral Evans led the 
forty-two ships into the harbor of San Francisco 
in his flagship. 

The next day Secretary Metcalf, as the personal 
representative of the President, reviewed the 
combined fleets and on May 8th Admiral Evans 
formally gave up the chief command to Rear 
Admiral Thomas and was taken in a wheeled 
chair to the dining-room of a hotel where a 
banquet to Secretary Metcalf and the officers 
of the fleet was being given. 

There Admiral Evans, wan and feeble and 
scarcely able to stand, electrified his audience 




THE FORWARD DECK OF A MODERN BATTLESHIP 

(Copyright, 1908, by Enrique Muller) 



The Cruise of the Battle-Ship Fleet 383 

by declaring impassionately that what the coun- 
try needs is " more battle-ships and fewer states- 
men." The next day Rear Admiral Thomas 
hoisted his flag as commander-in-chief, to be 
relieved five days later by Rear Admiral Charles 
S. Sperry. Sperry took the fleet to Puget Sound 
to give the people there a view of their new 
ships and, as at San Francisco, there was the 
usual round of entertainments for the fleet until 
the vessels were in readiness to resume the 
voyage around the world. 

The arrival of the fleet at San Francisco 
marked the real end of the cruise. All that 
followed was merely a succession of banquets 
and revels that made up charming features of 
a pleasure jaunt, delightful to the officers and 
men, but that were of no very special advantage 
to the service. 

A pleasant incident indicating the generous 
thoughtfulness of Admiral Sperry occurred on 
the passage of the fleet to Honolulu when the 
Admiral diverted the course of the ships and 
arranged their speed so as to pass the leper 
island of Molokai during daylight, steaming 
close in to the land, that the unfortunate people 
might have the pleasure of witnessing the spec- 
tacle and seeing an evidence, perhaps for the 
only time during their lives, of the naval power 
of their country. Another course of target 
practice was had at Manila Bay, which ad- 
mirably supplemented the work at Magdalen a 



384 The American Navy 

Bay. At New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and 
in China there was a renewal of the lavish 
hospitality, both official and private, that char- 
acterized the earlier days of the cruise and in 
the Mediterranean ports the testimonials of good 
will and friendship from the native authorities 
were intermingled with the hearty welcomes 
from many American friends. 

And now with our country a recognized world 
power, happily at peace with all the nations of 
the earth, with our Navy second only to that of 
Great Britain, we close these fugitive sketches 
of a few of the many romantic incidents in the 
career of our ships of war during the past 
century and a half. 

It is a far cry indeed from those early days, 
when the plucky little schooner Enterprise bore 
her part so sturdily in defending the honor of 
our flag on both sides of the Atlantic, down to 
this latest peaceful passage of our sixteen 
monster battle-ships forty-five thousand miles 
around the world. Yet they returned to our 
shores as they left them, fourteen months be- 
fore, all ready for a fight or a frolic — this 
episode in itself the greatest and happiest 
romance in all the century's history of our 
Navy. 



INDEX 



Achilles, 100, 101, 102, 

104 
Adams, 44 
Adams, 314 
Adams, John Q., 4, 88 
Adonis, 145 
Alabama, Confederate, 229, 

284-301 
Alabama, ironclad, 374 
Albemarle, 277-282 
Alden, Captain James, 254 
Alder, 93 

Aldham, purser, 166 
Alert, 119 

Alexander, Captain, 28 
Alexandria, 272 
Alfred, 64, 65 
Alliance, 56, 57, 58, 60, 75, 

80, 81, 86, 90 
Almirante O quendo, 366, 

369 
Almy, Master Thos. C, 174, 

177 
Alphonso XII. , 326 
America, 87, 309 
Amphitrite, 65 
Andria Doria, 29 
Annabella, 15 
Apia, 314 
Arbuthnot, Captain, Hon. 

James, 144 
Arethusa, 374 
Argus, 145 
Ariel, 111, 179, 186 
Armada, 142 
Arms, paymaster, 321 
Atlanta, 58 
Atlantic, 121 



Atlas, 197 
Avon, 144 



B 



Bacchus, 145 

Bailey, Capt. Theodorus, 

249, 250, 251, 257, 258, 

259, 310, 371 
Bailey, Lieut.-CoL, 272, 273, 

275 
Baker, M. A., 259, 261 
Baldwin, coal-heaver, 278 
Baltimore, 338, 339, 344 
Bankhead, Com'd'r, 243 
Banks, Gen. N. P., 266, 267, 

272, 275 
Bannatyne, Dr., 81 
Barclay, Capt. Robert H., 

173-178, 183-186 
Barclay, 120 
Barney, Commodore Joshua, 

20-36 
Barnwell, Master, 134 
Barrassa, 195 
Barreant, Captain, 58 
Barron, Captain Samuel, 50, 

118 
Barry, Captain John, 56, 

57, 58 
Bayou City, 224, 225 
Beauregard, 219 
Bell, Commander H. H., 248, 

262, 263, 264 
Belvidera, 108 
Benton, 217, 218 
Bernadou, Lieut. John B., 

333-336 
Biddle, James, 138, 139, 151, 

152, 154, 155 



25 



385 



3 86 



Index 



Biddle, Nicholas, 64 

Bilboa, 98, 99 

Bissell, Commodore S. B., 

303, 304 
Black Hawk, 267, 271 
Blake, Captain Homer C, 

229 
Blakely, Capt. Johnston, 

140-144 
Blanco, Captain-G e n e r a 1, 

323 
Boggs, Commander C. S., 

253 
Bon Homme Richard, 64, 

71-85, 99, 291 
Bonne Citoyenne, 120, 160 
Boston, 338, 339 
Bounty, 201, 208 
Boxer, 52-56 
Boyle, Capt. Thos., 195, 196, 

197 
Bradford, Lieut.-Com'd'r, 232 
Brandywine, 231 
Breeze, Chaplain, 180 
Brest 69 
Brooklyn, 90, 249, 252, 256, 

293, 294, 295, 296, 297 
Broke, Capt. P. B. V., 159, 

160, 161, 162, 164, 165, 

167, 168 
Brooks, Lieut., 180 
Broome, Captain, 255, 263 
Brown, Lieut. James, 165 
Buchan, Lieut., 174 
Buchanan, Capt. Franklin, 

232, 234, 236, 298, 301 
Buchanan, Paymaster Mc- 

Kean, 232 
Budd, Lieut. George, 166 
Burden, Captain, 68 
Burgoyne, General, 66 
Butler, Gen. B. F., 246, 253, 

265 



Cabot, George, 97 
Cabot, Richard, 97 
Cairo, 217-219 
Caldwell, Lieut. C. H. B., 
248 



Caledonia, 173, 177, 182 
Callao, Fort, 379 
Calliope, 319 
Cambon, M. Jules, 333 
Campbell, Lieut.-Col., 15 
Cape Verde Islands, 353, 

366 
Carden, Capt. John S.. 158 
Cardenas Bay, 333-336 
Carleton, Sir Guy, 71 
Carlin, Lieut., 320 
Carnation, 194 
Carondelet, 217, 220, 267 
Carrickfergus, 68 
Castillian, 144 
Castillo, 342, 344 
Cavallo, 231 
Cayuga, 249, 250 
Cervera, Admiral, 347, 356, 

362, 369, 372 
Chacabuco, 378 
Chadwick, Captain F. E., 

327 
Chalmette, 266 
Champion, 276 
Champlin, Stephen, 172, 

177 
Chanarcille, 309 
Charette, 363 
Chasseur, 195, 196 
Chauncey, Commodore, 171, 

175, 187 
Cherbourg, 285 
Chesapeake, 159-163 
Chickasaiv, 294, 300 
Chillicothe, 267, 270 
Chippeway, 176, 178, 179 
Choctaw, 267 
Chubb, 190 

City of Washington, 326 
Clark, Capt. C. E., 346- 

354 
Clifton, 223, 226 
Cockburn, Rear Admiral, 

197 
Columb, Admiral, 243 
Concas, Captain, 369 
Concord, 338, 339 
Cone, Lieut.-Com'd'r, 374 
Confiance, 190, 191, 192 
Congress, 231, 232, 236 



Index 



387 



Conklin, Lieut. A. H. M., 

177 
Connecticut, 372, 377 
Converse, Capt., 356 
Cook, Captain, 371 
Cooke, Com'd'r J. M., 277 
Cormvallis, 154 
Corypheus, 223, 226 
Count of Paris, 243 
Courronne, 285 
Couthouy, Lieut. J. P., 269 
Covington, 275, 276 
Cox, Lieut. W. S., 158 
Craven, Captain, 295 
Cricket, 267, 268, 270 
Cristobal Colon, 346, 366, 

370, 371 
Cromwell, Boatswain's Mate, 

204, 209, 211 
Culgoa, 374 

Cumberland Head, 192 
Cumberland, 231-235 
Cushing, Lieut. W. B., 279- 

283 



D 



Dacres, Captain, 109 

Dale, Lieut. Richard, 82, 90 

Dana, R. H., 213 

Danae, 201 

Davidson, Thomas, 305 

Davis, Flag-Officer C. H., 

216-220 
Deane, Mr., 65 
Decatur, Lieut. James, 149 
Decatur, Stephen, 38, 44, 45, 

47, 48, 49, 118, 156, 158, 

190 
Deerhound, 288, 290 
Defence, 14, 15, 16 
Deforest, Midshipman, 165 
Dent, Captain, 146 
De Soto, 306 
Despatch, 97 
Detroit, 176, 178, 179, 182, 

186 
Dewey, George, 337-345, 

366 
Dickenson, Captain, 152 
Dixon, Corporal, 165 



Don Antonio de Ulloa, 344 
Don John of Austria, 344 
Doty, Capt. G. W., 306, 310 
Douglas, Capt. Hon. George, 

114 
Downes, Lieut. John, 121, 

122, 127, 132 
Downie, Captain, 190, 191 
Downs, Commodore John, 

213 
Dragon, 240 
Drake, 68, 69, 70 
Drayton, Captain, 293, 295, 

297 
Dubois, Dr., 307, 310 
Dudley, Thomas, 243 
Duncan, Gen. J. K., 247 
Duras, 70, 71 
Dyer, Mrs., 310 



E 



Eagle, 190, 191 

Earl Camden, 94 

Earl of Selkirk, 67 

Eastport, 267, 271, 276 

Edgar, 86 

El Correo, 344 

Eliza Ann, 93 

Elizabeth, 95 

Ellet, Cadet Charles, 220 

Ellet, Col. Charles, Jr., 215, 

216 
Ellet, Lieut.-Col., 219 
Ellet, Lieut. Alfred W., 216 
Elliott, Capt. Jesse D., 177, 

181, 182, 187 
Elphinston, Captain, 30 
Emory, Rear Admiral, 373 
Endymion, 105 
Enterprise, 38-60 
Enterprise, brig, 147 
Molus, 108 
Epervier, 155, 156 
Ericsson, 237 
Espiegle, 150 
Essex, 39, 118-135 
Essex Jr., 123-127, 132, 135 
Essex, ironclad, 267 
Estrella, 359, 360 
Eulate, Captain, 370 



3 88 



Index 



Evans, Rear Admiral, 90, 

370, 373, 379, 382 
Excellent, 289 



Falcon, Capt. Gordon 

Thomas, 114, 116 
Falkiner, Lieut., 168 
Farragut David G., 119, 

123, 228, 229, 245-264, 

266, 292-300, 343 
Fayal, 193 

Finch, 190 

Fitch, Col. G. N., 221 

Fly, 51 

Flambeau, 41 

Fletcher, Capt. Alexander 

P., 60 
Flusser, Lieut., 278 
Foote, Flag Officer A. H., 

245 
Fort de Russy, 268 
Fort Fisher, 283 
Fort Gaines, 292 
Fort Hindman, gunboat, 

267, 268, 270, 274 
Fort Powell, 292, 301 
Franklin, 12, 14 
Franklin, Benjamin, 36, 66, 

71 
Franklin, frigate, 302 
Franklin, General, 275 
Fredericksted, 303 
Fredonia, 306, 308, 310 
Freeman, pilot, 295 
Fritze, Commander, 314 
Frolic, 136-139 
Furor, 366, 368 



Galena, 293 

Gallapagos Islands, 124 
Gallop, John, 6, 7, 8 
Galveston, 223 
Gamble, Capt. Henry, 93 
Gamble, Lieut., 126, 191 
Gansevoort, Lieut., 207, 208 
Gaspe, 17, 18 
Gazelle, 267 



Geisinger, Midshipman, 145 
General Armstrong, 192, 193, 

194 
General Bragg, 220 
General Lezo, 293 
General Lovell, 218, 219 
General Monk, 35 
General Pickering, 97-104 
General Price, 218, 219 
General Washington, 36 
General Wellesley, 96 
Georgia, 373 
Georgiana, 13, 21 
Gillis, Commander J. H., 

306, 307, 310 
Glacier, 374 
Glasgow, 64, 97 
Gloucester, 338, 369 
Golden Eagle, 99, 100, 102 
Gordon, Lieut. H. C, 196 
Governor Clinton, 88 
Governor Moore, 251 
Governor Try on, 16 
Grand Ecore, 271 
Grant, General U. S., 245 
Green, General Thos., 271 
Green, seaman, 209 
Greene, W. R., 227 
Greenwich, 121 
Gridley, Captain, 340 
Guadaloupenne, 42 
Guerriere, 109 

H 

Halleck, General, 266 
Hambleton, Purser, 180 
Hamilton, Alexander, 304 
Hamilton, Captain, 16 
Hampton Roads, 215, 230- 

242, 374, 378 
Hancock, John, 65 
Hannah, 17 

Haraden, Jonathan, 97-104 
Harding, Capt. Seth, 14, 15 
Harriet Lane, 223-228 
Harrison, General, 176, 184, 

186 
Harris, Lieut., 264 
Hartford, 246-265, 293-300 
Hatteras, 228, 229, 284 



Index 



389 



Havana, 323, 324 
Hawley, Lieut. J. M., 321 
Hazeltine, Midshipman, 263 
Hebrus, 146 
Hector, 122 

Heisler, Lieut. George, 260 
Henley, Jonathan, 48 
Hercules, 344 
Hermione, 201, 208 
Hewes, Joseph, 63 
Hieskell, Purser, 22, 53 
Hillyar, Capt. James, 126, 

127, 128, 129, 132, 135 
Hobson, Mr., 357-365 
Holdup, Lieut., 177 
Holland, Dr., 227 
Hope, 12, 13 
Hopkins, Commodore, Ezek., 

64 
Hopkins, 374 
Hornet, 26, 27, 28 
Hornet, 120, 148, 152, 153, 

154, 159, 171 
Howe, 15 
Hudson, 333, 334 
Hull, 374 
Hull, Isaac, 38, 44, 55, 108- 

114 
Hunter, 176, 178, 179, 182 
Hyder Ally, 34 



Indiana, 368 

Indien, 66, 67 

Infanta Maria Teresa, 366, 

367, 368, 370 
Insurgente, 58, 60 
Intrepid, 32, 46 
Iowa, 368 
Iroquois, 249 
Isla de Cuba, 342, 344 
Isla de Luzon, 344 
7s la de Mindanao, 344 
Itaska, 248, 249, 252, 293 



Jackson, Fort, 247, 251 
Jackson, General, 195 
James Island, 124 



Jamestown, 241 

Java, 112, 113, 114, 121, 187 

Jay, John, 88 

Jeff Thompson, 220 

Jefferson, Thomas, 63, 87 

Jersey, 31 

John Adams, 44, 50, 203, 

212 
John and George, 16 
Johnson, Com'd'r, 106 
Johnston, Com'd'r J. D., 

301 
Jones, Capt. Jacob, 136-140 
Jones, Capt. John Paul, 61- 

90, 291 
Jones, Hon. Wm., 184 
Jones, William, 62 
Jupiter Inlet, 354 



Kane, Captain, 319 

Kansas, 373 

Katahdin, 249 

Kautz, Lieut. Albert, 260, 

263, 264 
Kearney, Lieut., 147 
Kearsarge, 284-292 
Kearsarge, ironclad, 374 
Kennebec, 249, 282, 293, 300 
Kentucky, ironclad, 374 
Key West, 354 
Kimberly, Rear Admiral, 

314, 315 
King George, 62 
Kingsbury, Boatswain, 132 
Knight, 10 
Knowles, quartermaster, 295 



Lackawanna, 293, 300 

Lady Prevost, 174, 178, 182 

Lafayette, 267 

V Agile, 40 

Lamb, Midshipman Henry, 

180 
Lancaster, 217 
I.andais, Captain, 80 
Langdon, Miss, 85 



39° 



Index 



Laurence, James, 39, 148- 

151, 159-168 
Laurence, Colonel, 56 
Lawrence, 172, 174-175, 

177-187 
Law, Lieut., 164 
Lea, Lieut.-Com'd'r, 227, 

228 
Leary, Commander Richard, 

314 
Lee, 15 

Lee, Admiral, 279 
Levant, 114, 115, 116 
Lexington, 267, 269, 270, 

274 
Lexington of the sea, 11 
Lexington, battle of, 63 
Lincoln, President, 282, 302 
Lineres, General, 363, 364 
Linnet, 190 
Linzee, Captain, 17 
Little Belt, 176, 178, 182 
Little Rebel, 219, 222 
Livermore, Chaplain, 165 
Livingston, Philip, 63 
Livingston, William, 63 
Louis XVL, 70, 86, 90 
Louisiana, 247, 374 
Louisville, 217, 220 
Louisville, ironclad, 267 
Lodge, Henry Cabot, 97 
Long, Secretary, 348, 350, 

351, 353 
Lord, Lieut., 275 
Lovell, General, 258 
Lovell, Col. W. S., 258 
Lynch, Sir Wm., 24 
Lynn, Master's Mate, 145 
Ludlow, Lieut., 162, 166, 

168 

M 

MacDonough, Thomas, 39, 

48, 189-192 
Macedonian, 158 
Machias, 8, 9 
Machias, 333, 334 
MacKenzie, Com'd'r A. S., 

202-214 
Macomb, General, 189 



McCall, Lieut. Edward, 53, 

54 
McCormack, Captain, 347 
McCullough, 338, 340 
McDonald, Lieut., 152 
McKie, seaman, 209 
McKinley, President, 329 
McKnight, Act'g.-Lieut., 152 
McKnight, Lieut. Decatur, 

133 
Magdalena Bay, 373 
Magellan, Straits, 378 
Magnifique, 87 
Magruder, Major-Gen., 224 
Maidstone, 108 
Maine, 323-333 
Maine, 374 
Manassas, 247, 250 
Manhattan, 294, 299, 300 
Manila Bay, 337-344 
Manila forts, 343-372 
Manners, Capt. Wm., 142 
Margaretta, 8, 9, 10, 11 
Marietta, 347, 350, 352 
Mariner, 95 

Marix, Lieut.-Com'd'r, 327 
Marquis del Duero, 344 
Marquis de la Fayette, 56 
Marston, Captain, 238 
Mars, 56 
Mastico, 44 

Massachusetts, 98, 367 
Mayflower, 354 
Maynant, Lieut. John, 81, 82 
Mellish, 65 
Melville, Herman, 73 
Menzies, Major, 15 
Merrimac, 215, 217, 227, 

230-244, 277 
Merrimac, collier, 356-362 
Merry, Com'd'r J. F., 333, 

334 
Metacomet, 293, 297 
Metcalf, Secretary, 382 
Miami, 277, 278 
Midway Island, 311 
Milligan, Chief Engineer, 

371 
Mill Prison, 33 
Minerva, 119 
Minnesota, 374, 376 



Index 



39i 



Minnesota, 231, 236, 238, 

239, 240 
Mississippi, 249, 250 
Mississippi, Confederate, 257 
Mississippi, transport, 264, 

265 
Missouri, 374 
Mobile Bay, 292 
Molloy, Captain, 32 
Monarch, 302 
Monarch, British ship, 217 
Monitor, 216, 217, 230-244 
Monocacy, 337 
Monongahela, 293, 300, 303, 

304, 305 
Monroe, Acting Master, 227 
Monroe, Mayor, 258 
Montague, 120 
Montezuma, 121 
Montgomery, 356 
Monticello, 279, 283 
Montojo, Admiral, 342, 344 
Montt, President, 378, 379 
Moore, Lieut., 8-11 
Morris, Com'd'r Victor, 44 
Morris, Gouverneur, 90 
Morris, Lieut. G. U., 232, 

234 
Morris, Lieutenant, 110 
Morris, Robert. 64 
Mound City, 267 
Mower, General, 268 
Mugford, Capt, 12, 13, 14 
Mullaney, Capt., 299 
Murray & Sons, 21-24 

N 

Nanshan, 339 

Nantes, 67 

Nelson, Horatio, 45, 174 

Neosho, 267, 270, 274 

Neptune, 224, 225 

Nevada, 120 

Newcomb, Lieut. F. H., 333, 

336 
New Falls City, 270 
New Jersey, 374 
New Orleans, 245-265 
New York, 44 
New Zeland, 124 



Niagara, 172, 175, 177-184 
Nicholson, Capt. Samuel, 

106 
Nictheroy, 350, 352 
Nields, Ensign H. C, 297, 

298 
Nipsic, 314, 321 
Nocton, 120 
North Carolina, 202 
Nueva Constitucion, 95 



O 



O'Brien, Capt. Jeremiah, 11, 

12 
Octarara, 293 
Ocean Island, 313 
Odenheimer, Lieut., 133 
Ohio, 173, 176 
Oldham, Mr., 6, 8 
Oliva, Admiral, 377 
Olympia, 337-345 
Oneida, 249, 250, 251, 293, 

298, 300 
Ordronaux, Capt., 104 
Oregon, 346-355 
Osage, 267, 268, 270, 271, 

274 
Ossipee, 293 
Ouachita, 267 
Owasco, 226, 227 



Pallas, 70, 72 

Palmer, Captain, 146 

Panther, 374 

Parker, Admiral Sir Peter, 

63 
Pardo, President, 379 
Patrick Henry, 241 
Peacock, 149, 150, 154, 155, 

159 
Peake, Captain, 149 
Pearson, Capt. Robert, 81, 

82, 83 
Penguin, 151, 152, 153 
Pennock, Capt. A. H., 302 
Pensacola, 249, 250, 262 
Perkins, Lieut. Geo. H., 257 
Perry, Capt. C. R., 170 



39 2 



Index 



Perry, Capt. 0. H., 169-187 

Perseus, 30 

Petrel, 338, 344 

Philip, Fort St., 246, 250, 

253 
Pierce, Minister, 313 
Pinola, 248, 249 
Pinzon, Lieut. L. F., 370 
Pittsburg, 267 
Plantagenet, 193 
Plattsburg Bay, 189 
Pluton, 366, 368 
Poictiers, 140, 354 
Policy, 121 

Polo y Bernabe, Sefior, 332 
Pomone, 103 
Porcupine, 177, 182 
Port Bill, Boston, 4 
Porter, David, 39, 43, 59, 

118-135 
Porter, David D., 246, 248, 

250, 266, 270, 274, 275, 

282 
Porter, 354 
Port Royal, 293 
Portsmouth, 250 
Potomac, 212 
Potter, Israel, 73, 76, 80 
Potter, Lieut.-Com'd'r, 327 
Potter, Midshipman, 83 
Preble, 190 

Prendergast, Lieut., 236 
Prevost, Gen. Sir Geo., 186, 

189, 192 
Puget Sound, 383 
Punta Arenas, 377 
Purveyor, 305 
Put In Bay, 185 



Q 



Quebec, 36 

Queen Charlotte, 176, 178, 

182 
Queen of the West, 217, 218, 

219, 222 



Racehorse. 29 
Raleigh, 338 



Ramsay, Capt. Allen, 263 
Ramsden, Consul, 363 
Ranger, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 

70, 85, 99 
Rapido, 344 
Rappahannock, 285 
Read, Lieut. G. C, 111 
Read, Midshipman J. H., 

260, 263 
Red Chief, 272 
Rees, Lieutenant, 343 
Reid, Capt. S. G., 193, 194, 

195 
Reina Cristina, 341, 342, 

344 
Reina Mercedes, 362, 364 
Reindeer, 142 
Renshaw, Com'd'r W. B., 

223, 226 
Revenge, 98 
Revenge, 171 
Rhode Island, 243 
Richmond, 249, 252, 254, 

263, 293 
Rio de Janeiro, 377 
Roanoke, 231, 236 
Robinson, Captain, 28, 29, 

31 
Rodgers, Lieut., 59, 118 
Roebuck, 28 
Rogers, Captain, 35 
Rogers, Midshipman, 208 
Roosevelt, Theodore, 168. 

185, 374, 378 
Rose, 122, 123 
Rosebud, 31 
Rota, 193 
Royal George, 103 



Sachem, 28, 29, 223, 226 
Saginaw, 311, 313 
Sampson. Capt. W. T., 327, 

354, 367 
Santiago, 356 
Saratoga, 32 
Saratoga, corvette, 190, 191, 

192 
Sargeant, Hosea, 181 
Sartine, M. de, 6S* 



Index 



393 



Sassacus, 278 
Saxon, 223 
Scarboro, 73, 74, 75 
Schley, Commodore W., 371 
Schoonmaker, Capt. C. M., 

310 321 
Scorpion, 172, 177, 178, 179, 

186 
Scotia, 249 
Seine, 40 
Selfridge, Lieu t.-Com'd'r, 

268, 269 
Seminole, 293 
Semmes, Capt. Raphael, 214, 

229, 285, 286, 289 
Serapis, 64, 73-86 
Seringapatam, 124 
Severn, 147 
Seville, Charles, 310 
Shafter, General, 365, 367 
Shannon, 94 
Shannon, frigate, 108, 159- 

163 
Shaw, Lieut. John, 39 
Sherman, General, 266, 267 
Ship Island, 246 
Shubrick, Lieut. J. T., 149 
Sicard, Com'd'r Montgome- 
ry, 311, 312, 323 
Signal, 275, 276 
Sidney, 20, 24, 25 
Sigsbee, Capt. C. D., 323- 

327 
Sir Andrew Hammond, 125 
Sir William Erskine, 16 
Small, Elisha, 202, 210, 211, 

212 
Smith, Capt. Leon, 224, 225 
Smith, Com'd'r Wm, 232 
Smith, Commodore Joseph, 

236 
Smith, Gen. A. J., 267, 268 
Smith, Kirby, 275 
Smith, Lieutenant, 236 
Smith, Lieut. Sidney, 190 
Socapa, 360 
Solway, 67 

Somers, 173, 177, 178, 182 
Somers, brig, 201-214 
Somers, Richard, 46, 49 
Soule, Pierre, 261, 262 



Southfield, 211, 278, 280 
Spartan, 16 
Spencer, Jno. C, 202 
Spencer, Philip, 202-214 
Spencer, Wm. A., 202 
Sperry, Rear Admiral, 374, 

383 
Stanton, Secretary, 216, 221 
Starlight, 272 
St. Croix, 303, 305 
St. Lawrence, 195, 196 
St. Lawrence, brig, 196, 197 
St. Mary's Isle, 67 
St. Thomas, 305 
Stebbins, Captain, 16 
Sterrett, Lieut. Andrew, 42, 

43 
Stewart, Charles, 42, 114, 

116, 118 
Stewart, 374 
Stone, Captain, 26, 27 
Story, Judge, 168 
Sumner, Charles, 214 
Sumter, 219 
Susquehanna, 306 
Sutton, Lieut., 321 
Suwanee, 367 
Swan, Paymaster, 281 
Symonds, Com'd'r, 347, 349 



Talbot, Commodore, 171 
Talbot, Lieut. J. G., 312, 

313, 314 
Tammany Hall, 195 
Tanner, August, 310 
Tartarus, 144 
Tatnall, Com'd'r, 242 
Taylor, General, 275 
Taylor, Master M. V., 172 
Tecumseh, 186 
Temerario, 350, 351, 352 
Tennessee, 295, 298, 299, 

300, 301 
Tenney, Matthew, 235 
Terror, 366 
Texas, 368 
Thames, 94 
Thetis, 119 



394 



Index 



Thomas, Rear Admiral, 374, 

383 
Thompson, Jeff, 220 
Thorn, 16 
Thornton, Lieu t.-Com'd'r, 

J. S., 289 
Three Brothers, 145 
Ticonderoga, 190 
Tigress, 173, 177, 182 
Tom Bowline, 154 
Toulon, 45 
Trenton, 314-322 
Trepassy, 58 
Trinidad, 376 
Tripoli, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 
Trippe, Lieut., 48, 49 
Trippe, 173, 177 
Truxton, 374 
Truxton, Commodore, Thos., 

58, 59, 60 
Tucker, Captain, 126, 134 
Tuscarora, 283 
Tyler, President John, 202, 

213 
Tyrannicide, 97-104 

U 

Union, 71 

United States, 156, 157, 158 

Unity, 10 

V 

Valdivia, Fort, 379 
Valley City, 282 
Valparaiso, 123, 125, 378 
Van Brunt, Captain, 239 
Vandalia, 202, 314, 320, 321 
Van Dorn, 220, 222 
Varuna, 249-254 
Velacity, 223 
Velasco, 344 
Vengeance, 70, 72 
Vermont, 373 
Virginia, 374 
Virginia, Confederate, 232 

Vizcaya, 324, 366, 370 

W 

Wadsworth, Henry, 46 



Wainwright, Com'd'r Rich- 
ard, 223-228 
Wainwright, Lieut.-Com'd'r. 

326, 368 
Wales, Captain, 155 
Wales, purser's steward, 

204, 205, 206, 207 
Walker, 120 

Wallingford, Lieutenant, 69 
Wallis, Lieut., 168 
Warner, 275 

Warrington, Captain, 155 
Warrior, 252 
Washington, George, 4, 63, 

65, 87 
Wasp, 28, 159 
Wasp, ship, 136-147 
Wateree, 306, 309, 310, 

311 
Waters, Capt. Daniel, 15, 

16 
Watson, 94 

Watt, Lieutenant, 165 
Welles, Secretary G., 245, 

289 
Westfall, Gunner, 316, 317 
Westfield, 223, 226, 227 
Weston, Josiah, 9 
Weyler, Captain-Gen., 323, 

324 
Wharton, Lieut., 300 
Whingates, Capt. Thos., 136 
Whipple, Captain, 18 
Whitehaven, 67 
Wier, Captain, 225 
William, 94 
Wilmer, Lieut., 133 
Wilmington, 333, 336 
Wilson, Capt. Oliver, 92, 93, 

94 
Wilson, Lieut.-Com'd'r, 223 
Wilson, seaman, 209 
Winnebago, 294, 300 
Winona, 249, 252 
Winslow, 333, 334, 335, 336 
Winslow, Capt. J. A., 285, 

286 
Winslow, Dr., 307 
Wissahickon, 249 
Wood, W. W., 280 
Woodman, Mate, 281 



Index 



395 



Worden, Lieut., 238, 241 

Y 

Yankee, 92, 93, 94, 95 
Yankton, 374 
Yarmouth, 32 

Yarnall, Lieut. J. Y., 179, 
181 



Young, Capt. John, 32 

Z 

Zafiro, 339 
Zettich, Ensign, 298 
Zimmerman, Lieut. C. W., 
227 



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